She's Leaving Home
by naturally morbid
Summary: Discontinued. Eventual KakaSaku, with some Naruto x Hinata AU fic It is Sakura's first semester in college and she meets a professor that might just change her mind on the lines of what is forbidden and what is not.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Okay, this is my first Naruto fic ever. This will be a Kakashi x Sakura fic with Naruto x Hinata. It will be rated M for good reasons like language, adult themes, and sexuality of course, which appears in the first chapter, like right at the beginning. I should also mention that it will be AU, taking place in college rather than the Naruto universe. Meaning, none of them are ninjas in this sorry in advance. I would also like to mention that I am sorry if anyone is out of character, I guess that comes along with moving the characters from their normal world to another hm? It will be told primarliy from Sakura's point of view, just to avoid confusion with changing point of views. I also appologize if it starts out kind of slow. Future chapters will be more centered on her growing relationship with Kakashi, that is if you guys like it and want me to continue. This is just an introductory chapter and most of the main characters will have minor roles I guess. I think I have covered everything. So enjoy!

EDIT: Thank you to Norikoko who pointed out that Hinata's name had been mispelled!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters. I also do not own the title of the story; it belongs to the Beatles.

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She's Leaving Home

Chapter One

"Are you sure?" he asked as he poised himself above me, his strange bi- colored eyes boring into mine as his hand rested on my thigh the other beside my head. I could get lost in those ebony and sanguine hues for hours. My breathing hitched as I made an attempt to answer him.

"Y-Yes," I gasped as his hand slid up my exposed thigh some. Not that this movement had much effect on my decision, that first day of class had already made up my mind.

He pressed his covered lips to my neck, the soft material of the black mask he always wore caressing the skin as I pressed a hand to his chest and tangled the other in his gray locks. His calloused hand continued to move up my thigh to a warmer and ultimately more secret area. I had no intention of stopping him or myself for that matter.

Wait, maybe I should explain what I'm doing with my professor, well not the actual act of course, but how we got there. Because I am certain that having sex with your professor isn't something that happens all the time. Since that is the case, let me take you back to the night before I was supposed to leave for the university I would be attending.

X

"Sakura! This is really goodbye isn't it?" My friend, Ino Yamanaka, asked as she slumped against me at the table we were seated at with our closest friends and members of our graduating class. Her blond ponytail fell behind her shoulder to hit mine as she shut her eyes.

"Yes," I sighed as I in turn rested my head on hers, setting my cup on the table in front of me. The agreement between us would be to go to different schools, well not really an agreement, but that was how it worked out. She would be attending a school on the far side of the town while I would be attending a school in the next city.

"We will still see each other right?"

"Yes," I answered again, although I wasn't really sure. In high school and over the summer we saw each other every day, but this would be college. Who knew really? "Probably on the weekends."

"What about me?" Naruto asked, well practically yelled, sloshing the contents of his drink on the table and the floor; his trademark grin overtaking his features as he turned to face us. I sighed. Naruto Uzumaki would be attending the same school as me, though I really had no clue why. I had rather hoped that my long-term crush Sasuke would be attending instead.

"I will see you too," I said, offering him a rather strained smile. Naruto was a loudmouth and sometimes annoying, but he was my friend and would probably be one of my only familiar faces at this new school. "Probably all the time." It would be my luck that he would probably have all my classes too.

"Good," he smiled, moving around the table to throw his arms around us in a friendly hug, in the end spilling the rest of his drink on Ino. She smacked his blond head to make him move away. He was used to it, since probably childhood, having grown up around all of us.

"What about you Sasuke?" I asked. I had been unable to keep my eyes off him all night. Sasuke Uchiha was in my house, at my hosted end of the summer party, and I was calm. That was an almost impossible feat of steel nerves.

"Sure," he answered in that detached and smooth manner of his. Inwardly I sighed, because I so rarely received an answer from him. He was that cool guy, the one that everyone either loved or hated or maybe a mix of loving to hate him. He had divided me and Ino for a while in school, as we both had terrible crushes on him.

His drink remained untouched on the table, his elbows propped up on the table with his interlaced fingers beneath his chin; his face pulled into a smile-less and concentrated expression. He always looked like that though, for nearly as long as I could remember. It was part of the bad boy appeal. Part of me wished that his answer was true, but the other half argued that I would probably never see him again.

That was how the second phase of school was meant to end; you were supposed to be moving on with your life, getting ready to get a job or go back for more training, or even start a family in some cases. The comrades you had in the second phase would be busy, just like you and you were almost expected to grow apart and make new friends.

Not that I wasn't excited to finally be continuing my education to get a job as a doctor, just that I was a little afraid of leaving my friends behind. Even as silly or as lazy or as strong as they all were, I would miss them and the time we had spent together.

"Sakura, is something wrong?" Ino asked as she turned to look me straight in the eyes.

"No," I lied; I guessed that my thoughts had transferred to my facial expressions.

"Okay," she consented; but she knew as well as I did that I wasn't okay. That was part of being best friends. Giving me a friendly wink, she addressed Sasuke. "So what are you intending to do?" she asked in the best sultry voice that she could manage.

"Study of course," he stated, shrugging his shoulders. Ever since his brother, Itachi, had murdered his family, Sasuke had never quite been the same. It gave him that pretty boy angst to boot.

But under all of that, I really worried about his sanity. He had been unnaturally calm towards us, no more cut off than usual. The event had happened when we were probably still in elementary school or maybe just in middle school. It had been so long and so traumatic for everyone that parts of it had disappeared from my short-term memory.

He never wanted to talk about it with anyone and I couldn't blame him. But I could not stop myself from wanting him to open up to at least me about it. He needed to speak to someone about it.

I figured that he would probably become a police officer, as his father had been, or study law if nothing else. But he never told any of us what his plans were. He kept them as guarded as everything else.

I found myself sighing as I propped my head up with my palm. It was then that I realized Ino and Naruto were laughing at me, as they did all through middle and high school. I blushed the color of my hair before I gave a half-hearted chase after Naruto. All he did was hide behind his girlfriend, Hinata Hyuuga. I thought the poor girl was going to faint.

They were a cute couple sure, but they were direct opposites. Naruto was exceptionally loud and bold whereas Hinata was exceptionally quiet and shy. She had crushed on Naruto for as long as I could remember, finally getting his attention, somehow. Not that Hinata was an ugly girl or anything; she is very attractive, just too quiet.

Of course, her crush had ended better for her than it had for me. Sasuke still had no clue that I had any sort of feeling for him. Or maybe he did and just wasn't acting on it. Either way, it was driving me to the point of madness. Maybe college wouldn't be so bad. I needed to focus all of my strength into something worthwhile anyway; like becoming a doctor.

"Naruto, come out from behind Hinata or else I'll have to make you," I said. Hinata paled and shut her eyes, falling against Naruto. "Oh Hinata I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" I said as I rushed forward 

to help him with her. He held her against him easily, encircling her small frame with his arms as he tried to wake her. He planted a gentle kiss on her cheek and she blinked at him.

"Naruto?" she asked.

"Yes," he smiled. When he looked at her, it was the only time I didn't see him as a complete goofball. He was actually kind and normal around her. I was pretty sure that they were deep in love and that was great. But I was still alone. I mean, they were the only couple I knew, but their tenderness just added to my own angst.

Leaving them to their special moment, I surveyed the room to see everyone that we knew laughing and having a good time.

Tenten was arguing with everyone around her providing her feminist views on life, though I couldn't ignore the strange looks that Neji Hyuuga was giving her as he spoke with Rock Lee. She would probably be a political activist and Neji would somehow fall in love with her.

Shikamaru Nara was playing a game with Choji Akimichi, who was eating about anything around him. Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, and his dog Akamaru were nearby, but mostly watching everyone else. Kiba took that dog everywhere, well except school, but Akamaru was perfectly obedient and waited outside for his master.

Even Sai was speaking, sort of, to Ino. He reminded me somewhat of Sasuke. The difference between him and Sasuke was that Sai actually tried to fit in with us and make friends, whereas Sasuke seemed to want to get rid of them. He was another boy that Naruto had won over. He was kind of a newcomer to our group. Sai is an exceptional artist though; his paintings seem to jump right off the page. We figured he would probably end up at some kind of art school if nothing else.

The three sort of outcast siblings of our school, that we had befriended in a way, were seated or standing around the room. Gaara, the youngest, was eying Naruto and Hinata. I knew that he and Naruto were odd kind of friends. At first, Gaara hated everyone, but Naruto being his goofy self, won him over as well. His older siblings were already out of school.

Temari was trying to get Shikamaru to speak to her even going so far as to try and sit on his lap, but he was ignoring her as usual; she was the oldest of the three. I figured that she liked him by the way that she was always trying to get him to pay attention to her and wasn't doing it just to irritate him. Shikamaru only commented to me that she reminded him too much of his mother.

Kankuro was just standing alone, but away from Gaara. I knew that he had trouble getting along with his younger brother and that their family had some problems with control. But Kankuro was nice enough. I felt kind of sorry for him standing there all alone with no one to talk to, but Gaara leaned over and said something in a hushed tone, the pair of them exchanging weak smiles.

But there I was, Sakura Haruno just turned eighteen months before, and I was surrounded by my friends. But for how long?

Sure, I had tonight, but what about tomorrow night? Tomorrow was my first day of college. I would be riding the bus there and back for my classes so that I could live at home as long as possible.

I was surrounded by love and comfort in many different forms. Security. I would have to enjoy it as long as I could. And enjoy it I did. I played the part of a normal teenage girl, just hanging out with her friends. For a while, the depression I had been experiencing left me so that I could interact with everyone, like the hostess I was supposed to be.

But as curfews go, one by one and some in pairs, they all left, well save Ino, Naruto, and Hinata. Even Sasuke had left without as much as a goodbye. I could not help but feel crushed, though I tried my hardest not to show it. I should have known better than to expect goodbye from him though.

"So, tomorrow we will all be honorary college students," Ino smiled tiredly. They had stayed and helped me clean up the party before my parents fussed. That had been our agreement in the first place. They would let me have it if my friends did not trash the place. The only one in danger of trashing the place was Naruto but Hinata kept him in check.

"Yeah," Naruto laughed as he playfully elbowed me in the side.

"I'm scared," Hinata told us, her voice just barely above a whisper.

"Don't be scared Hinata, I'll be there and so will Sakura," Naruto smiled as he held her protectively and kissed the top of her dark head. I would have been lying if I had said I wasn't just a tiny bit jealous of them. I am only human after all.

"Yeah, don't worry," I tried to smile. "We'll be there for you."

"I am going to miss hanging out with you guys all the time," Ino said with a sad smile.

"We'll just have to try and make time," I said. "And there is always texting," I laughed.

"Right, right." We all stood there awkwardly, the time being well past midnight. While we all should have been resting up for school in the morning, none of us wanted the night to end.

"So, we'll see you in the morning," Naruto said to me. "I have to get Hinata home before her guardian freaks," he smiled lazily. I knew he really didn't care what Hinata's guardian wanted but was doing it for Hinata. "See you on the weekend Ino. Best of luck!" He gave her a thumbs up as she gave him a hug, well as best she could without causing Hinata to faint again. The couple walked out to Naruto's piece of shit car and left just me and Ino standing in the dark in front of my house.

"You know, I'm going to miss you," she told me, her voice taking on a serious tone.

"I'm going to be so lost without you," I confessed with a small laugh, shaking my pink locks into my face. Many people assumed that I was a rebel with my unusual hair color, but the truth was that it was natural with some help. My hair had been a very prominent strawberry blond that I made sharper as I grew older, choosing to relish in my strange looks.

"We will keep in contact though," she said firmly, giving my hand a small squeeze. "I have to tell you about all of the cute boys I'm going to meet," she smiled. That was Ino for you, always thinking of the guys. Only one guy was on my mind at that moment and I couldn't help but feel a little pathetic. I guess my emotions showed through again or she knew we that well, because she continued. "Hey, don't let Sasuke get you down okay? You'll meet someone nice and forget all about him alright?"

I nodded, at that moment not feeling convinced. If only I had known. I gave her a small smile.

"If not, I'll play matchmaker for you or beat the Uchiha's ass alright?" She put her arms around me and gave me a tight hug.

"Alright," I laughed.

"Good girl." We stayed that way for a moment or two. "I love you Sakura and best of luck. You'll do fine."

"I love you too Ino. Best of luck to you, though you hardly need it," I told her back. After a few more good-byes to her car, I was left alone to stare at the partial moon in the sky.

What a beautiful moon it was, but lonely. I sighed as I thrusted my hands in the pockets of my shorts and headed into my house. The neighborhood was surprisingly quiet that night and I should have been right asleep, but my mind was excessively awake with all of my fears for tomorrow.

I rolled over trying to get comfortable as I tried to quiet my mind. I knew what kind of classes I had and when they would be. I was of course nervous about finding them. I would have your standard freshman classes like English and Biology.

I had a total of five classes, two every other day and three between then: English, Biology, Math, History, and Political Science, all on the basic levels. As I lay awake, I wondered how my professors would be. I had not met any of them only knowing their names on my schedule for last two months of summer.

I wondered how my classmates would be and if I had any classes with Naruto or Hinata. The way that Naruto was keeping his a secret, I figured he had at least one with me, and probably Hinata too, as she blushed and looked faint when questioned.

The summer had been fun, most of us finding things to do in groups and trying to soak up as much company as we could. I felt that I had grown over the summer too, in appearances.

At least I hoped I had as I needed all the self confidence I could get. I had spent a lot of time working out, shaping up my body to be in peak form, my feminine muscles rippling just under my pale skin. My pink hair had grown to just around my shoulders; I had even let Ino start trying to straighten it. That was trying, as in it only worked half the time.

I was a tomboy at heart, but decided that it might be nice to try something else for the fall semester. Ino was trying to help as well.

She always had guys adoring her where as I was always beating guys up it seemed; but only because they would say something stupid and mostly degrading to me; even, as much as I hated to admit it, Sasuke. But I could never hit him like I did the others; him being the object of affection for me.

I had already picked out my outfit for tomorrow, well technically today if I looked at the clock. Shorts and a tank-top were the best way to stay cool and make a simple impression. My books were all ready along with several extra copies of my schedule; because I was paranoid I would lose the original.

I would have Biology first thing in the morning and then English in the afternoon; classes starting at ten thirty. The Biology I was excited about of course, wanting to enter the medical profession, but the English was scaring me before I even set foot in the classroom.

From my short tour of the school when I registered, classes would be anywhere from twenty to thirty people. Not quite the dramatic and impersonal structure I found myself fearing. My thoughts eventually drifted to Sasuke and all the time I had spent admiring him as I fell asleep.

X

The angry buzzing of my alarm prompted me from a deep sleep with dreams involving naughty things with Sasuke and I rolled over to slap the snooze button. I felt so worn out from hardly sleeping and just wanted five extra minutes of shut eye.

However, when I looked at the time, I realized that five extra minutes could mean the difference between me being on time to class and making a bad impression on my first day. I jumped out of my bed, hastily making it as I ran for the shower.

It would seem that my parents had already left for work and I had the house to myself. I showered quickly, trying to save time, before I jumped out and made a hasty attempt to dry off. If I wasn't careful, I was in danger of breaking something, most likely my neck.

I tugged my clothes over my semi-damp body as I raced to eat breakfast consisting of a cereal bar and drinking from the carton as I tried to dry my hair and get all of my supplies together.

Both my English and biology books weighed several pounds apiece I would have assumed, in addition to the folders to write in and just normal items in my purse and backpack.

Before I hurried from the house, I made sure that I had everything I needed and had left nothing behind as I headed at a breakneck speed for the bus. My parents had found that bus travel would be ultimately cheaper if not safer way for me to travel back and forth between home and school.

I didn't mind the bus so much. Naruto and Hinata would probably be taking it like me anyway, as Naruto's car would never make it to the city and back. I sank onto the seat under the covered designated waiting area and breathed a huge sigh of relief that I had just made it.

I didn't have long to rest there as the bus pulled up and I had to board. I tried not to make much eye contact with anyone as I paid and found a seat. The ride would be longer than an average around the town, but I was looking forward to trying to get my head together.

The scenery of our picturesque town soon changed into the bold skyscrapers of the city and I could not ignore my own hitched breathing. Soon, I would be on campus and that would make everything I had been worrying about over the summer more real.

The bus driver called out my designated stop for the college and I shakily stepped off, the harsh exhaust filling my lungs as I clutched my Biology book nervously. I could see the campus in sight, tons of students already milling around.

I looked for the goofy yellow-orange and black jacket that Naruto was probably wearing. It was like finding Waldo. He and Hinata were sitting near the entrance of the main building, obviously looking for me. One of them must have spotted me first because Naruto started waving like a madman.

I ignored the strange stares of the other students and staff as I headed for them, keeping my eyes mostly on the ground. Already, I could feel the butterflies in my stomach. I stole a moment to glance at my cell phone and realize that I had twenty minutes before Biology started.

"There you are Sakura!" Naruto yelled. I stood in front of him and Hinata. She was looking extremely pale this morning. I was sure that I was too. "Are you excited?" he asked. "You school nerd," he teased. Although I knew he was teasing, I couldn't help but take some offense.

Rather than argue and cause a scene, I answered his question with a simple 'yes.' "What about you Hinata? Are you ready for your classes?"

"Y-yes," she stumbled.

"Sakura, you have English today right?" Naruto asked with a sly grin, the strange whisker-like scars on his face twisting a little with the movement.

"Yeah," I answered, wondering what he was getting at. "Why?"

"We do too," he informed me, pointing to himself and Hinata. At least I would not be alone to endure a subject that I was no good at.

"Excellent," I smiled. Naruto and I made small talk as I waited a little while before looking for my class. It was supposed to be in the main building and not too far from my English class.

I felt like I was going to vomit, but suppressed it with a deep breathing exercise and telling myself that everything was going to be just fine. Stopping in the hall for a second, I let my mind clear and suddenly it seemed easier to find the classroom.

I made it just in time to find a seat near the front all alone at a lab table. Before the professor closed the door, a few more students entered and took the table with me. They were all males and looked to be in their twenties. They ignored me for the most part.

The Biology professor was a woman, probably in her forties? She introduced herself but insisted that we call her only by Professor. She looked exceptionally intelligent and wise. I liked her instantly as she commented on my name when she called role.

For today, it was just the normal things like going over the syllabus and objectives of the class. I was certain that I would excel, having some background and high marks in science. I left the class in a better mood than I had entered with.

"How did things go in there?" Naruto asked as he and Hinata shared some of their lunch with me. I had forgotten all about lunch in my haste to leave the house.

"Better than expected," I smiled, proceeding to tell them about the class. Naruto, in turn told me about the History class he and Hinata had. It seemed that Hinata liked the class while Naruto found it boring. I was not surprised in the least. "Please don't tell me you're going to sleep through English too," I said.

"I'll see how it starts," he grumbled. Now I think I had figured out why Naruto was at school. It was because of Hinata. She shyly told me some about the History class, the professor sounding exactly like the type that you would think would teach history, old and uncaring.

Nothing would have prepared us for the English teacher though, which is who most of this story is about.

The three of us left the common area early in search of the class and good seats. The English room was different from the Biology one in that some of the desks were on risers only going up to three at the most.

We took seats at the front, dragging Naruto so that he would be sure to stay awake or at least come up with more creative napping tactics. Either way he would have to use his brain more than usual.

I fumbled with my pencil as we watched more students pile in, talking excitedly amongst themselves. Most of the girls seemed to be talking about some guy and the name sounded familiar. It didn't occur to me to check my schedule. The guys of the classroom were complaining about the guy the girls were whispering about and I had to wonder if he was one of those jock-types by the way they were speaking.

Nervously, I glanced at my cell phone to see that it was ten minutes after the class was due to start. Was the teacher always late? Had something happened? Were we in the right room? I kept a calm face as we waited.

Twenty minutes passed and everyone was starting to get uncomfortable when the door opened.

It was in that moment, when he walked in the room, that I realized my life was about to change, as cheesy and probably cliché as that may sound.

From his feet up, he was dressed in plain black slacks with unpolished dress shoes. He wore a black button down long sleeve shirt, leaving some of the buttons undone at the top.

But it was his face that really made the room erupt into fiery whispers.

On the lower portion of his face, he wore a black mask made of some light material. It covered his neck all the way to the bridge of his nose. His left eye was covered with an eye patch, leaving his right exposed. Some of his strangely gray strands of hair were pushed back with the strap from the eye patch. His face was young which made me wonder about his hair. It was spiky and stuck out in many directions.

He kept one hand in his pocket as the other held open an orange book. The title of the book he was reading so openly made me blush some, because it kind of reminded me of the dream I had about Sasuke. He flipped a page as he waited for the class to settle down before regarding us with his exposed eye.

He had a lazy expression and it was hard to know if he was smiling or frowning under that mask. Hinata, Naruto, and I all shared a questioning look as we waited for him to introduce himself. He was mysterious and unlike any other professor that I had ever seen walking around today or had even tried to picture.

But it was that mysteriousness, like Sasuke, that kept me intrigued by him. He was actually rather good looking, and any thought of the Uchiha I had, was pushed aside. This man was a professor? I didn't know they could be so- I didn't even allow myself to finish the thought. He was going to be my English professor after all.

"Good afternoon class," he started his voice smooth as he assessed us. I could feel his calculating gaze rest on me and probably my odd hair. I continued fumbling with my pencil and looking down, as if I didn't know. At his words, the whispering percentage of the class had fallen silent; waiting. "I am your English 101 professor, Kakashi Hatake."

The room erupted into more whispering and it became obvious that this teacher had some kind of reputation I had somehow missed. He was obviously used to all the talk for he frowned and waited for the class to give him their attention again.

"For the next sixteen weeks you will be under my care, doing exactly as I say if you want to pass this class. That includes reading all of your material as there will be a quiz at the beginning of each class. Today, there will be an essay, written with the remaining time. I should not have to tell you how an essay looks. If you fail to complete the essay in the given time, then you might as well not come back.

The topic is why you are taking this particular class. If you do not have a better reason than, it is required or my advisor signed me up, then you may leave now as I am not the teacher for you." He 

obviously expected some students to walk out because he left the door wide open. He was right; several of the loud males from earlier left. "I'm not going to bother taking role today as I find it a waste of my time learning the names of people I will probably never see again. The rest of you, begin work. You have fifty minutes." With that, he flipped open the dirty book and took his seat at the desk.

I gulped as writing essays was something I had never been very good with. I pulled out a sheet of paper and began working, trying to keep my nerves at a standstill and my head clear. I used the reason that I was continuing my education and wrote what I hoped was an impressive essay.

"Five minutes," he said, lazily. I glanced up just in time to see him glace down, or so I thought. Maybe it was completely wishful thinking. Either way, I put the finishing touches on the paper and waited. I kept my head down to avoid looking at him. His class was going to be a challenge.

"Time," he called. One big sigh seemed to come from the whole classroom. I released a breath I wasn't aware I was holding. "Place your completed essays on the edge of the desk. If you finished then you should be exchanging the essay for a copy of the syllabus. If you do not give me anything, then please leave. In this class you will be expected to work under pressure and that includes being able to write an essay in less than an hour." More of the class just walked out, a mix of both male and female. Hinata, Naruto, and I waited to be the last ones to turn ours in, wanting to avoid being crushed by the rest of the split class.

"Now listen here," Naruto started with him. Hinata looked like she was going to faint and I wasn't so sure that I was completely steady either. "I have something to prove to everyone at this university and you won't scare me off so easily," he grinned, slamming his essay on the small pile. Professor Kakashi just stared at him.

"Alright then," was all he said as Naruto grabbed a copy of the syllabus after turning in Hinata's things. She shakily held the paper and I wondered if she would do okay in this class. I was very aware that I was the last one in the room and that he was staring at me.

"Oh sorry, here," I said, a weak smile on my face. He took the paper, glancing it over as I took one of the syllabi like the others.

"Sakura Haruno?" he asked as he looked at me. Something about the way he said my name sent chills up my spine, but they were good ones.

"Yes?" I asked, wondering if he was going to throw me out.

"Nice name," he commented, still holding the paper.

"Thank you," I said, feeling awkward. I walked out as fast as I could, meeting Hinata and Naruto outside. Much to Hinata's relief I exchanged some words with him on teacher etiquette as we walked to the bus stop.

But Kakashi didn't leave my mind; it twisted around him with all sorts of questions about his past and strange teaching method. I had to wonder if the comment on my name was just because I was the last one in class or if he really thought so.

Sasuke had been completely pushed from my mind for the time being and I seemed distracted the rest of the night to everyone who came in contact with me. I read the syllabus for his class several times through but it gave me no clue as to who he was or what he was like. I guessed I would find out in time.

X

Author's End Note: Love it? Hate it? Think it's too early to tell? Review?


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Alright, back with chapter two! Wow, I am really shocked by all the response, but it is a good shock. Thank you so much! I never expected even one review. I just hope I can live up to expectations and have not bombed out already with this chapter. I would like to mention and point out some things about this chapter in advance.

I gave Sakura a schedule similar to the current one I have and have had in the past. They say to be a good author, write what you know, right? Jiraiya is a professor in this and I sort of modeled him after a biology professor I had, with the small class but that is the only part from the professor I had. He's sill a pervert in case you wondered about that, he probably won't act anything like a professor and his class won't really be a class, for the record. He's the teacher that probably everyone has had or will have that doesn't really want to be a teacher at all?

Iruka and Asuma are also professors. You'll have to read on to see what of. It may seem like a lot going on in the first two days of school, but this is fiction after all and it may seem kind of sudden; but some of it is based on real life too, as I am sort of close with some of my professors. I mean, one of them is the leader of the art and drama clubs and I just went to dinner with him and his wife last night and the rest of the drama club.

I apologize in advance for any mispellings, out of character characters, and anything else. I let a friend of mine who knows more about Naruto than I do read it and he found it okay, I think. So I tried really hard and I hope I didn't lose anyone. I apologize for that if I did. I also apologize for such a long author's note. Happy reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters.

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She's Leaving Home

Chapter Two

That night I tried to study the English material he had given us. It was standard things like read the chapter, answer the questions, and keep notes. It was pretty simple, even if the teacher wasn't. Instead of Sasuke tonight, I strangely thought of my new English professor. Only in dreams right? Yeah, that's what I thought at first too.

X

The next morning I found that it was easier to move around as I had gone to sleep earlier having little homework as it was a first day and all. While I was resting my head against the warm tiles of the shower, groggy thoughts of a certain professor filled my head. I couldn't stop them. It was just so sudden, which was odd for me as I was seemingly obsessed with Sasuke. I didn't even know anything about this professor other than he was unique.

I shook my head and concentrated on finishing my shower so that today I would at least have time to pack a lunch. I would be at the school from around ten thirty again to around seven thirty with three classes. There was no point in coming home between the waits.

I would have to catch the bus by eight to make it home at a decent time. That would mean that I would have to run from class to the bus stop as soon as the teacher dismissed us. I was glad I spent so much time working out.

This morning I was able to eat breakfast, square away all of my school supplies, and make it to the bus with time to spare. Trying not to think about a teacher you know nothing about can really drive you into working hard. But there I was, thinking about him for what seemed like the thousandth time in less than a full twenty-four hours. What was wrong with me? I just met the man yesterday and he said all of four words to me.

"Hey Sakura!" I heard Naruto call from halfway down the block. If anyone else had been around I would have blushed and sank into the bench of the bus stop. He was dragging Hinata with him in an attempt to make it before the bus. "Glad we made it in time," he laughed as they collapsed beside me.

"Good morning," I greeted them. "I didn't realize you two were going to ride the bus with me."

"Yeah, we couldn't let you ride alone, you know with all the scary people out in the world," Hinata said.

"Good point," I smiled, glad for their company to take my mind off the professor. He was just my professor after all. "Are you guys ready for your classes today?" I was curious to know if they had anymore classes with me.

I received a groan from Naruto and a shy nod from Hinata before she answered: "We have Math together I think." At least I wouldn't be alone in there either. I was curious to know what our other professors would be like.

"At least with Sakura, we'll have the answers," Naruto commented. I smacked his arm sharply. "Hey, I was kidding!"

"Right," I rolled my eyes. Before we could argue any further, the bus rolled up and we had to board. I wasn't as nervous as yesterday, having an idea of how the school looked and some of the faculty. I would have been lying if I had said that I did not want to see our English professor again.

The first part of the bus ride was spent reprimanding Naruto, much to the enjoyment of Hinata. I was glad that she was going to school with us as I felt less alone. I had not received a message from Ino, but she was probably as busy as I was; I wasn't worried. She probably already had a date anyway.

I ended up sighing a little louder than I meant to, for Hinata asked was something wrong. "I was just wondering what Ino is up to," I explained, not mentioning the rest of what I had been thinking, to spare everyone my emotions.

"She is probably missing you," Hinata encouraged.

"I hope so," I smiled, trying to at least be cheery about it. She was probably right. Hinata took a quick glance at Naruto to see that he was asleep before she leaned in and continued talking.

"So, what about that Professor from yesterday?" she blushed. I guess I wasn't the only one whose mind he had invaded.

"Oh Professor Hatake?" I asked, trying to sound casual and keep the smile off my lips. Hinata nodded and blushed even more. "I guess he is alright." I could not stop the smirk that was appearing at the corner of my lips.

"He was quite different wasn't he?" The girl got redder, just when I thought she couldn't.

"Yes," I admitted, allowing half a smile to take over my face. "He was. I wondered who all our classmates were talking about before he walked in. Now I can see why."

"He is quite a fox?" she asked, face still going red. I have never expected anything like that from Hinata and was quite taken.

"Hinata!" I cried the smile unrestricted. I had to be careful that she wouldn't faint from my volume.

"I could see the way you were looking at him," she pointed out in her shy voice. Ugh, there it was. It was obvious, like I was sure my forehead was. Who knew that she would point something like that out?

"Well…" I replied. "He's just our professor," I tried to brush it off and suppress my own feelings. He was just a new professor to me, I was hoping the sudden crush would fade.

"Sure," she said timidly. The bus hit a sharp bump and Naruto was shaken awake to jump in the conversation again.

"What did I miss?" he asked, running his fingers through his kind of tangled blond hair, then stretching and placing his arm around Hinata's shoulders.

"Just girl talk," I smoothed over before Hinata could die of embarrassment. "Nothing important. I have a different history teacher from you guys," I said, changing the subject. I handed them my schedule. The name that Hinata had mentioned yesterday wasn't the same one on my paper.

"Hmm Jiraiya? Wonder what he is like. " Naruto finished scanning my class plans for the day. "You have Iruka Umino for political science at a different time than I do," he pointed out. "You have it after me." It looked like I would have all male teachers today as the math teacher's name was Asuma Sarutobi.

Once the bus stopped at the designated place for the college, we hurried to find our classes. I wanted to be earlier today to find a good place to sit and maybe talk to some of my classmates.

I was the first one in the history class room, besides the teacher. He was laughing quietly at something he was reading on his desk. I cleared my throat as tentatively entered the room.

"Oh good, come on in!" he said, he shut the magazine quickly and stored it in his brief case. His hair was about as white as the board behind him but his face wasn't so old. He was rather heavy set and wore loose-fitting shirts and pants. He seemed pretty kind.

"Do I need to come back later?" I asked, feeling kind of awkward.

"No, you're fine, er just fine." He looked me over and I felt kind of uncomfortable. "Who are you?" he asked as he moved around the desk to sit on the front of it, crossing his arms.

"Sakura Haruno," I said, clutching my history book a little tighter.

"Nice to meet you Sakura," he smiled offering a hand to me. As he was shaking my hand, he led me to a desk in the front of the room. I shakily took the seat as he perched over me.

"Studying another student?" someone asked. We both turned to see none other than Kakashi standing in the doorway his arms crossed as he leaned against the frame.

"What? She's a pretty one Kakashi," Jiraiya smiled. He turned that one dark eye on me but didn't reprimand or deny it.

"She's one of mine," he said quietly, still keeping that one eye trained on me.

"Fine," the older professor sighed as he moved back from my desk some. "You looking for more reading material?" he asked as he walked back to his desk. "Must have a boring class today huh?"

"It could be better," he said, finally turning his gaze away from mine, walking over to the desk as well. Since I was directly across from the professor's desk, Kakashi leaned against the desk next to mine, crossing his arms again.

"Give me a moment, I had one for you." He began to dig through the messy brief case. I saw something that made me blush and turned my gaze to my book.

"Didn't find my class too hard yesterday did you?" It took me a second realize that Kakashi was addressing me.

"No," I answered, shaking my head and feeling slow.

"Excellent, because your essay was exactly what I meant," he complimented. I thought he was smiling behind that mask. "Good job." I tried not to blush as I nodded my head vigorously and whispered a "thanks."

"Found it!" Jiraiya shouted triumphantly holding a book similar to the one that Kakashi had been holding yesterday. "I think you'll enjoy this one," he winked, throwing the book to Kakashi, who caught it easily.

"Thanks," he nodded. "See you around Sakura," he nodded as he exited the room before more students showed up.

"Second day of school and you're already Kakashi's favorite huh?" Jiraiya asked as he rubbed the back of his head.

"What do you mean favorite?" I asked.

"Well you must have written one hell of an essay for him yesterday. He hardly ever comments anyone and even then it is never after the first day, though I'm sure it helps that you're pretty." I blushed and tried to keep the smile off my face. "If you impressed Kakashi, then you should do just fine in my class. I like you already. Is that hair dyed or natural?" he asked as he leaned in for a closer look.

"Is yours a wig or real?" I retorted. He reminded me of Naruto.

"Feisty. Fine, it's real. Now answer mine."

"It's mostly natural with some help."

"Well it is a fine color Sakura and suits your name just fine hey?" I nodded as a few more students entered the classroom. It was nearly time for class and there was next to no one in there. Jiraiya didn't appear ruffled though, in fact he seemed rather excited.

"Better turn out than last semester," he nodded. There were probably all of ten people in the class, though I could see why. He was a bit of a pervert. "I am Professor Jiraiya, the other History professor. Please just call me Jiraiya; we'll all be friends in here, right Sakura?"

"Right," I answered, not daring to look at the rest of the students in the room. He continued prattling on about what the class would hopefully cover as he passed out his syllabus. He had even been sure to include several phone numbers and several email addresses as well as offers to assist him in his research. Of course, the research wasn't specified, though I had an idea as to what it was.

His class would be easy. It was strictly tests. He called roll, giving me an extra wink as my name rolled off his lips. Yet another teacher I was already strangely friends with; about as much as you can befriend your professor, well this one anyway. I was pretty sure it was because Kakashi had interest in me as I have little or no self confidence at all.

I realized that he had dismissed class for the day and that I was the only left sitting there. Where had the time gone? I would just read the syllabus on my lunch break anyway.

"Sakura, you can leave you know," he said.

"Oh right," I shook my head slightly, trying to clear it before I had to go to Political Science. I was sure that if Professor Kakashi had noticed me, it was because of my essay and nothing else, and Professor Jiraiya must have just been playing a trick on me because I was the first new student in his class that day or he was desperate.

I never put much thought into how I looked for a long time. I was athletic and tomboyish up until freshman year when I tried to be pretty like Ino. It didn't work though, in my opinion. Guys still ignored me or considered me one of them in a sense.

My hair was kept kind of short so it wouldn't get in the way and low maintenance when I was out and about. I didn't have much of a figure either in my opinion. My chest had never gone beyond an A cup even as much as I tried; I never developed full hips either so that I was really curvy like other girls my age.

I had tried makeup but found it too fussy to try and pick what color went best with what feature, what I wanted to accentuate, or cover up. My clothing was tasteful of course and sensible, just not as glamorous as others. Sure I had nice clothes and rather "trendy" ones, but I hardly ever pulled them out, finding clothes that could be used for athletic purposes just as sensible.

There was no way that any guy found me desirable. I kept my head lowered as I hurried through the halls. I glanced up every now and again to make sure I knew where I was. The classroom was close to the English one.

I have a way of making bad first impressions on people. It was no surprise that as I was moving through the crowded halls, I crashed into someone. That someone would have been Professor Iruka. He was outside in the hall lecturing none other than Naruto. I should have known. All through high 

school Naruto had probably been lectured and detained by close to every teacher. Why did I think it would change in college?

"Whaa-" He yelled as he was nearly pitched to the floor. Not that I alone would have knocked him over, but that another student had pitched me forward even more.

"Sakura!" Naruto smiled as he grabbed my arm to steady me and keep me from embarrassing myself further. I blushed to the roots of my hair as I looked at the floor. I refused to look at either one of them.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Naruto elbowed me in the ribs until I looked at him. He was around probably Kakashi's age. He had a large scar on his face, right across his nose, but his eyes were kind. He was dressed very casually in black slacks and an olive green shirt, his hair pulled back.

"Yes," I blushed. "I'm sorry sir."

"As long as you're not hurt Miss…"

"Haruno. Sakura Haruno," I introduced for the second time that day. "I'm in your class."

"She's a friend of mine," Naruto said as he pulled me beside him in a cheesy hug. Iruka looked between us and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, alright, very nice. Go ahead and have a seat. Class will be starting soon." I would find out later in great detail what he had done probably and it would result in a scolding from me. I kept my head lowered as I walked in and found a seat near the front, just to stay consistent.

Another explanation of the syllabus, another teacher to get to know, another class to study for, another grade to keep up with.

This wasn't so different from high school so far, but I could already feel the first pricks of stress in my system. I still had one more class in a few hours.

But Professor Iruka was nice; his class wouldn't be so bad I had an idea. I smiled, getting over my moment of clumsiness as I left his class and headed for the outside. I needed some fresh air. I tried to find Hinata or Naruto in the crowds, but it was no use.

I found a nice spot on the carefully manicured lawns and sat down near the shade of a tree, just to escape all the noise and crowds. The school was in the middle of the city, but they had left enough room for gardens and lawns to make the students feel more comfortable.

I took out the parts of my lunch I had hurried and packed before I left. I had made sure it was things that could be eaten cold as I wasn't sure if there was a way to heat them or not. The sun beat down on me, warming my skin from the coldness of the classrooms. I started reading over Jiraiya's syllabus since I had not paid much attention in class.

I would have to focus more and self-hate less. From where I was, it was rather quiet and so close voices were magnified. It was probably sometime before I noticed. I heard some friendly greetings coming from near the tree and felt my heart stop for a second.

"Hey!" Iruka shouted to a familiar masked face as he walked from the opposite direction. How had I not noticed Kakashi sitting there, under the tree, reading? Was he following me? Was I following him? I felt cold sweat begin to build under my clothing.

"Oh hey," Kakashi said casually waving to him. Iruka was joined by Jiraiya as well and I was beginning to wonder if I should leave or not. I focused on eating and reading in hopes I would go completely unnoticed.

I could hear their friendly exchanges of salutations and tried to concentrate on my work instead of what they were saying. The conversation sounded like it was mostly comparing classes and my oversensitive hearing was pushed into overdrive.

I picked up bits and pieces before I zoned out after a while. I pushed their voices out of my head. It was none of my business and I was busy. I could hear someone moving across the grass and tried to concentrate even more, telling myself that someone was just passing through.

"Do you mind if I join you?" someone asked. I thought maybe I had gotten too much sun and was hallucinating because Kakashi was standing in front of me, holding his book and looking expectant.

"G-go right ahead," I blushed. Was he following me?

"Nice day isn't it?" he asked as he plopped down.

Today he looked really nice. His silver-gray hair was shining in the sun, his one visible eye bright, and the other covered, just like the lower portion of his face. He had on a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and black slacks. In the afternoon sun, I could see through his shirt to the slightly defined muscles. I could see how toned his arms were as he held the book.

"Yeah, sunny," I said.

"What are you working on?" he asked, looking over to my lap at my half eaten sandwich and syllabus. "Oh Jiraiya's class huh?" I nodded, looking at him, meeting only one eye as the other was covered by a patch. "Ah," he stretched, setting the book in his crossed legs. The motion did not go unnoticed by me. "All you have to do is show up I think." I could see that he was smiling through the mask.

"Really?"

"Yeah, he's not all that difficult and neither is Iruka, despite what you hear about him. I guess while I'm at it, I'm not either, I'm just particular."

"I was kind of surprised by the number of people leaving yesterday."

"Were you scared?" His dark eye met my bright green ones.

"A little, but I guess I'm scared of everything right now," I confessed. "It's all so new."

"Well you fooled me," he said. "That essay you wrote, I liked it."

"Really?" I asked again, feeling the blush creep up my neck and to my face. I wondered just why he was speaking to me, a student that he had only known one day. These things never happen to me.

"Yeah. You wrote a lot of heart into that. So your dream is to be a doctor huh?"

"Mhm, I volunteered at the local hospital all through high school. I found I actually had a talent for taking care of people I guess," I explained cheerfully. "My friends always came to me when they had minor injuries like cuts and such."

"Wow, you have some lucky friends then and a proud boyfriend too I suppose?" he asked casually. What was he getting at?

"No, no boyfriend," my blush intensifying.

"I find that hard to believe," he scoffed, running a hand through his hair, the movement catching my eyes.

"Well it's true," I confessed, setting aside the paper and the sandwich.

"Alright, I guess I'll have to trust your word. So you volunteer. What else do you do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your interests."

"Oh, I guess athletic stuff like jogging you know. I like to read I guess and do normal things like hang out with my friends or listen to music. I spend a lot of time outside." I felt awkward and clumsy.

"I thought so," he nodded. "You sound like a very well-rounded woman. Do you live here in the city now?"

"No, I still live at home with my parents." This time instead of creeping blush, it was all out right to my hairline.

"Hey, there is nothing wrong with that," he responded cheerfully. "Are your parents proud?" he asked.

"Yes, they are very proud. They are just busy with work you know? I hardly saw them yesterday and then it will be late when I get home tonight and I probably won't see them too much."

"That always seems to be the hardest change for everyone, the schedule; friends going to different schools or jobs, parents or guardians working, you working."

"Yeah, I haven't had a chance to call my best friend yet and ask her about school. I've hardly had time to tell my parents how I liked my classes yesterday. I mean, my education is worth all this work, but I wonder if I'm going to be able to handle it. Five classes doesn't sound like so much, but then you look at all the work that goes with them and you realize that a lot more is expected of you. I still have one more class today."

"Don't stress too much okay?" he said. "Approach everything with a clear head. Plus, if you feel like you need to talk to someone, that's part of why we're here. To listen to the students; without you, we'd have no jobs. Just come and talk to someone, me even."

"True," I smiled, "I might just take you up on that." I paused thoughtfully. "Do you always speak to your students outside of class like this?" I wondered if there was more to it than it appeared or if he was just this friendly toward the ones that decided to stay. I didn't dare hope it was just me; it was never me.

"Not really," he shrugged. "You're an exception though Sakura. Is me talking to you outside of class acceptable? I mean, you are in college after all and the rules change some."

"Yes, it's fine."

"Great then. Now, you said you still have one more class today? With whom?"

"Asuma Sarutobi." Kakashi nodded.

"Did you get good grades in math?"

"Yes, I made an A."

"Then you'll do fine in his class. Your friend, Naruto, right?" I nodded. "Does he have this class?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well if he does, then he might have some trouble with Asuma."

"He already got in trouble with Professor Iruka today, I assume anyway. He always got in trouble in high school. I apologize on his behalf from yesterday," I bowed my head.

"I appreciate it, but its okay. I have at least one every semester, though Naruto is spunkier than usual. I would venture to guess that Ms. Hyuuga is his girlfriend?" I nodded. "I see. If you don't mind me saying, they're an odd couple."

"I know. That's what everyone thinks when they first meet them. They make it work though." Kakashi nodded. I felt a little more comfortable around him. "I'm not jealous of Hinata having Naruto at all, as he is like a brother to me."

"How very noble of you," he pointed out. "It showed in your writing too."

"Thank you." I restrained the blush some.

"Do you mind if I ask you something? I'm sure everyone does though. I know Jiraiya did."

"What would the question be?" I asked, even though I had a good idea what it was.

"In the short time I've had this job I don't think I have ever seen a student with your hair color. Is it natural? Jiraiya wouldn't tell me," he said, obvious amusement tainting his voice as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Mostly natural though I give it some boosts of color. I'm not a rebel by any means," I blurted out, being mistaken because of the hair.

"No, it has to be hot pink for that by my standards," he laughed softly. He acted like he was going to reach for one of the strands then changed his mind and put his hand behind his head instead. "Plus, you would actually have to dress like a rebel."

"I guess," I laughed. "Though my friend Ino said it looked like candy or something."

"Actually, she was right. It reminds me of cotton candy."

"Is that good or bad?" I laughed, tugging on the locks.

"Good. It makes you unique."

"Thank you." I don't think any teacher had ever called me unique before. There was that word again. I had used it to describe him this morning, of course in my head. I was flattered. He nodded as he stretched again and lay back in the grass, letting the sun warm the rest of him. He rested a hand lazily on his stomach. He seemed perfectly comfortable.

"I like days like these," he said quietly. "Do you?"

"Yes, before it gets so cold when it is still kind of summer."

"Yeah, it's a pretty day." I turned back to my syllabus as a silence grew between us. It wasn't a completely uncomfortable silence.

And that was when it really started; the friendship with Kakashi Hatake. He would ask me a question every now and again until it was time for me to go to class. Questions like, what was my favorite movie or color, what did I think of such and such problem.

"Do you want me to walk you there? I don't mind, it's right on the way to my office."

"I guess that would be alright, if you don't mind."

"Come on then." He stood up rather quickly and easily, like a skilled fighter, offering me a hand. I graciously accepted as my lower half was half awake from sitting so long. His hand was much larger than mine, warm, and a little calloused.

He waited for me to gather all my things before we started walking across the lawn. The sun was beginning to disappear under the skyscrapers and everything was turning orange. I was sure that Naruto and Hinata were worried about me since I had gone missing all afternoon.

We walked back into the less crowded hallways; I guessed it had something to do with the night classes. I didn't mind though. I felt better with Kakashi walking at my side.

"Thank you," I said as he left me at the classroom. I bowed my head slightly.

"Don't mention it," he said as he waved his hand and continued down the hall. "See you later Sakura," he said, turning one final time to look over his shoulder at me. I could see a faint smile under his mask.

I took a deep breath and stepped in the room. It was still early and only half the room was full but it sounded like several full rooms.

"Sakura!" I heard Naruto yell above the din. Everyone in the classroom turned to stare at me as I blushed.

"Hey Naruto." I walked over to where he and Hinata had saved a seat for me.

"Where were you this afternoon? We were worried," Naruto scolded.

"I-I," I honestly started to tell them, but the last new professor walked in.

"Good evening class," he greeted us, his face pulled into something crossed between a smile and a grimace of pain. I could see an unlit cigarette hanging off his bottom lip. "I am Asuma Sarutobi, Professor Asuma to all of you. Welcome to Freshman Algebra."

He went through the monotone of handing out papers and calling the roll to be sure we were all there of course before explaining the class objectives and such that I had already heard from two teachers today. I was ready for the day to be over so that tomorrow would come faster and I would have another chance to see Kakashi.

Professor Asuma was all business similar to Kakashi, though he did crack a smile some. That cigarette never left his mouth though. I kept my eye on it the whole time he was talking.

"Hey," Naruto raised his hand, waving it in the air. Asuma looked a little surprised but called on him anyway. "Why are you letting that cigarette dangle from your mouth like that? Don't know you that smoking is bad for you?" Naruto pointed.

"Don't know that it's rude to point?" Asuma asked. There was Naruto, getting in trouble again. I slid down in desk some and waited for it to be over. Already, he was picking a fight he wasn't going to win. Hinata looked faint and I reached out to steady her shoulder.

Without much warning, she fell out of the desk and to the floor with a loud thud.

"Hinata!" I cried, sliding from my desk to the floor to see about her. Naruto was there in seconds and Professor Asuma was on his way. I had never expected her to faint in the middle of the class, but of course she had been left with Naruto all day and his trouble making so I was sure that it was inevitable.

What a way to start the school year. I never thought things like this happened in real life. So far the day had been nothing but strangeness. I've heard it said that when you get to college, everything changes. I just didn't realize the people that said that would mean in the first week, much less the first two days!

I helped Naruto lift our friend off the floor as Professor Asuma moved some students and opened the door for us. I had never realized how delicate she was. I knew that she was painfully shy and timid from a troubled home life, but I didn't realize how serious it was.

College was just an overload on her.

"Try water first and if she doesn't come to, then come get me and we'll call either for help or her parents or guardian," Asuma directed, once we were out in the hall. Naruto and I nodded as we started for the nearest bathroom down the hall.

"I'll get a damp paper towel if you stay with her," Naruto told me.

"I can do that." I propped both of us against the wall, checking her pulse and breathing. Both were fine as far as I could tell. "Hinata," I said, "please wake up." I checked her head to make sure that there wasn't a bump from hitting a tiled floor. "Please? We're not in class anymore."

I could see her eyes opening some. I continued pleading with her even after Naruto got back and wiped her face with a damp paper towel. He was talking to her as well.

"Naruto, did anything happen this afternoon that I need to know about?" I asked.

"She got a little hot being out in the sun I guess and she didn't eat lunch from being so nervous. Wait, that's it isn't it?" he asked with a sad smile.

"Yeah."

"Is class over?" she asked.

"No, but its okay. We're going to get you something to eat. Then you'll feel better okay?" She nodded weakly as we walked even further down the hall to a common area that had snack machines. I used some change from Naruto to get a bag of m & ms to share with her.

I guess her blood sugar had crashed out in addition to everything else. I glanced behind me to see Naruto holding her gently against him. It made me feel uncomfortable for some reason so I turned back to watching the machine. I felt like I was out of place or something.

I sucked up my awkwardness and walked back over to them, handing over the bag and sitting across from them. I studied my fingernails, waiting on her to feel better as I did not feel comfortable intruding on them.

"Thank you," Hinata smiled faintly at me. "I'm so embarrassed I don't think I can go back to class." She turned bright red as normal.

"Don't worry, we'll just go back after it is over and let me talk to Professor Asuma," Naruto told her, giving her a squeeze.

"Thank you," she smiled. She looked tired and extremely pale like yesterday. I wondered if she was really okay or if there was something more wrong with her. Naruto sat and held her close as we waited. Near time for the class to be over, we helped her back to stand outside the classroom against the wall.

The door opened and the students poured out, giving us sympathetic looks, unlike high school where they would have laughed and pointed at her. No wonder she was so nervous around everyone. Asuma came to the doorway and beckoned us in.

"Are you alright now Ms. Hyuuga?" he asked, looking rather sympathetic himself. I wasn't surprised that he hadn't come to help us. I guess he had seen far worse than her and he had a class to teach. I mean, this was college after all.

"Yes," she answered, not meeting his gaze.

"Ms. Hyuuga, could I speak to alone?" he requested. She nodded.

"Alright then, if you two could step into the hall?" It sounded like a question, but it was meant as a request. We nodded and stepped out.

"Naruto is something more going on with Hinata?" I asked.

"I don't know. She won't talk to me about things right now." He sounded defeated and the way he ran his hand through his hair, I figured he was. "I'm worried. I mean, fainting is nothing new, but fainting in a class is. He will probably call Kurenai." Kurenai Yuuhi was Hinata's legal guardian after her father threw her out of the house. Hinata never liked to talk about it.

"Do you want me to stay?"

"No, we'll be alright. I'll stay with her. I know you're tired."

"Are you sure?" Hinata was my friend too. I didn't want to leave if I was needed, that and I couldn't leave without my stuff.

"Yes we'll be alright. Just get your things when he lets us in and then you can go home if he wants us to stay."

"Thanks Naruto." We stood in the hall, waiting on Asuma to call us back in.

"Do you think she's alright in there?"

"She's stronger than she looks, I'm sure she's fine."

"Do you think she'll be alright? I mean in college?"

"I'm sure." I gave him an encouraging smile as we stood there, but I wasn't so sure. I mean, today was only the second day of the first week and she had already fainted in class. I had to trust Kurenai's judgment though, in sending her. I assumed that was probably why Naruto had so many classes with her and I guess in a way I did too.

I eventually just slumped down the wall and sat on the floor, waiting. I reflected over all the things that had occurred that day. I had never imagined the second day would be anything like this. I never imagined that my English teacher would spend the whole afternoon with me, that I would run into my political science teacher as I had, or that Hinata would faint in the middle of class.

If this was today then what would tomorrow be like?

"Sakura, here," Naruto said as he handed me my things. I didn't even realize we had been allowed in the classroom.

"Oh thanks," I nodded, standing up and brushing myself off first.

"Go home and get some sleep before tomorrow alright?" he laughed.

"Fine, could you let me know how everything goes?"

"Yeah, we'll give you a call." We exchanged goodbyes as I walked down the empty halls. I would be so late. It was past eight o' clock now. The bus would be awhile.

I called my parents to give them a heads up so they wouldn't worry so much. All I got was the answering machine. I wasn't surprised though. I called their cell phones and found they were still off. Both must have had to work late too.

I sat and waited all alone in the covered bus stop. I leaned back and stretched. I didn't have any homework to speak of. What was I going to do? With the cell phone in my hand, I texted Ino, hoping that she would text me back, at least to keep me busy until I could get on the safety of the bus.

I had taken self-defense classes of course, but I never actually wanted to put them into practice. My phone did not ring, not once. Out of desperation, I started reading my textbooks until the bus arrived later.

I boarded as I had done the day before and leaned my head against the cool glass, watching the city give way into the landscape of my town. I closed my eyes briefly, remembering how Kakashi looked in the sun this afternoon.

I thought about how he had reached for my hair and then for his own instead. He was going to touch me? I'm sure it would have been an innocent gesture, but maybe he didn't think so, which lead me to believe that he had ulterior motives.

I thought about how calloused his offered hand had been and wondered how it would feel running through my hair or over my skin. Just holding his hand briefly had sent pleasant chills racing through my nervous system.

I guiltily wondered what else he could do with that hand, even the other hand. I longed to see what he hid under that mask too and his eye patch.

I could just imagine a face so beautiful that the world did not understand and would be jealous so he had to keep it hidden. And his eye, I'm sure he lost in some noble fight or tragic accident. Or maybe he didn't lose it at all. Maybe the eye patch was to hide something like a strange eye color or blindness.

I imagined that he would pull the mask down and kiss me gingerly on the lips, taking both of my hands and interlacing his fingers in mine as he would press me against the harsh wooden top of his desk. His skin on mine would be a rough against smooth contact. His lips would mold into mine as his tongue would press through my slightly parted lips.

His tongue would clash with mine at the sudden intrusion as we battled for dominance in a sensuous setting of our own saliva mixing, his body pressing into mine as his fingers tightened. I would be able to taste him in such an intimate manner.

We would both moan into the kiss as relations grew more heated between us. He would search every crevice of my mouth, eventually winning the kiss as he would press my back onto the desk in total domination.

What the hell was I thinking? I shook myself from my dirty thoughts of Kakashi, shouting inside that he was just my professor and that I was just his student. I stepped off the bus into the cool night at the stop not far from my home, allowing the air to soothe my burning skin.

I could not believe I had imagined that! Much less that I had even enjoyed it a little. I blushed in the dark as I unlocked my door and entered the house. There was a note from my parents stating they had gone out to a business dinner and would be home late.

So I dined alone watching some tv as I worked on biology for the next morning before turning in early. No call from Naruto or Hinata or even Ino, just as I figured. For the second night in a row, Kakashi was among my thoughts, even as much as I tried to expel him.

X

Author's End Note: So what is going to happen next? Love it? Like it? Hate it?


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Alright, back with chapter 3. Thank you for all the reviews! I really appreciate them and accept them humbly. In case you're wondering, I do like to reply back to everyone as I feel it is polite to thank you guys, so that's why you keep seeing the replies from me. I hope I don't disappoint with this chapter. I was hoping to have this updated, Friday? But I have contracted some nasty throat and upper respiratory infection and have been really sick for the better part of the weekend and my mind isn't as sharp as it usually is.

So, my usual explanation about the chapter before hand so as not to confuse or irritate later on. Tsunade is the biology professor and will be her advisor later on, so they'll be close like in the series. I'm also using examples from the biology class I had to take last summer upon entering college. Yes, we used an earthworm and mine tried to crawl away.

About Kakashi and Sakura in this chapter, I'm not going to mention anything here so that you have to read. I did get a second opinion on some of this chapter from a college friend of mine and they approved it, I think. I would also like to apologize for any OOCness.

Also, Ino is paired with Genma, which I know has been done before here in another story, which I havne't read yet. So appologies if that is completely unoriginal and anything else that entails, but I do like them paired together and am far too lazy to make up an OC for her or try to make a villain work. However, if it makes people unhappy, I can change it. But since this is mostly Kakashi x Sakura, I hope it doesn't make that big of a deal. I think I'm rambling. I do not know the official time for those 19 and under to be kicked out of clubs, so I just made up eleven. If you know the real time, please feel free to tell me so I can adjust it.

I would also like to mention that the scene with the club and Ino and Sakura is not yuri. I repeat, NOT, yuri. It was actually kind of based on a dance I went to. I was nervous and a friend of mine plus a guy she knew danced with me, trying to help me out; so that is another thing that is kind of based on something real. It's just dancing and all characters are straight in this, for future reference.

Without further ado, or rambling sickness from me, enjoy! Also, if you guys want to recommend any fics for me to read, then let me know. I get a bit overwhelmed when looking through here sometimes.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters. I do own the only OC in this chapter, Hiro, which the name was taken from staying up far too late to watch Shin Chan.

* * *

She's Leaving Home

Chapter 3

"Why is Ms. Haruno the only one who can answer the question?" The professor asked as she looked around the room. I blushed and hung my head some.

She received no answer the class so she began to walk around the class. "Was everyone listening the first day? This is a simple question. You were expected to read the assigned chapter!" she shouted, slamming the text book down. "There is so much information in this class that you have got to stay on the ball alright?"

She sighed as she sat behind the largest lab table, running her fingers through her blond hair. "Alright, today we will be filling out a study guide on our first section in here. Just an overview of life." She composed herself as she began to pass out the papers.

I figured it was the first of many outbursts. Professor Tsunade had a temper, according to my classmate's talk before class. So far I was on the good side of it. She even smiled as she handed me the paper. I blushed because it was nothing, studying for her class, at least so far. She began to lecture as we filled in the study guide.

After class, I looked for Naruto and Hinata. I had not seen them that morning and wondered if everything was okay. I checked my cell phone outside, hoping for some kind of signal as the inside allowed me none.

"Guess who it is?" someone asked as their large hands covered my eyes. I nearly dropped my phone as I gasped. I hadn't noticed anyone behind me.

"Naruto, don't kill her," I heard Hinata worry. His hands were removed from my eyes as I spun around to glare at him.

"Where were you guys?" I asked, shutting my cell phone. I still had not heard from Ino and it kind of irritated me. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes," Naruto answered. "Asuma had a talk with Kurenai last night. She drove me home afterward. Asuma is going to keep an eye on Hinata."

"Really?" I asked her, as we began to move toward a table in the sun for lunch. I was starving as I forgot to eat breakfast because my alarm had not gone off like it should have.

"Yeah. Kurenai explained about my social problem," Hinata said, keeping her eyes down. "And I have to eat before I go to classes, no matter how much I don't want to." I felt really bad for her; it must have been embarrassing. "I wish I wasn't so shy," she said, blushing.

"Don't worry Hinata, we'll help you out," I smiled. "You can overcome your shyness. Pretty soon you'll be as bold as Tenten or Ino." Poor Hinata looked like she was going to faint at the thought. "Or at least as brave as me, okay? I still get shy you know."

"Right," Naruto rolled his eyes. "We saw you talking with Professor Kakashi," he snorted. "You like him don't you?"

"Shut up!" I yelled, acting as if I was going to throw my textbook at him. He shrugged.

"What? You were blushing all afternoon. We even saw him walking with you. Now you have Hinata talking about him," Naruto said a tinge of jealously stainin his words. "What do you guys see in him anyway? He's weird." Naruto crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.

My annoying friend had a point. What was it that was drawing us in this quickly?

Was it the mask that he wore to cover the lower portion of his face? Why was he wearing that thing anyway? Was he some kind of criminal? Was someone after him? Was he sick? Had he been in a fire and his face was marred? And his eye, what was with the eye patch? Why did I even care? Why was I even thinking about him again?

"Sakura," I heard a voice calling. I shook my head some, my pink tresses falling into my face. I shook them out of the way, probably looking like I was going crazy or something.

"What?" I snapped, recognizing Naruto's voice.

"You zoned out," he said. "Someone is headed our way," he pointed. I followed his finger to Kakashi, who was slouching along and reading his book. I stared, with my mouth slightly agape as he continued past us off campus.

"Hey," he said, taking his hand out of his pocket to wave at us as he continued. His eyes never left the hentai as he moved on.

"Hey!" I said brightly. I heard someone sniggering behind me and turned on my heel. Hinata was touching her index fingers together as she looked down while Naruto had narrowed his eyes and covered his mouth. Bingo.

"Someone is hot for teacher," he said in a singsong voice.

"That does it!" I grabbed the handle of my lunch box, swinging the whole thing around as I gave pursuit, hoping to hit him. But it was true. I had become rather flustered that Kakashi had even waved at me, much less said hey.

I chased him all over the front of the school, trying to hit him, just like in high school when he would tease me about Sasuke. Sasuke. The name ringing through my head was enough to make me stop. The last two days I hadn't even thought of him and what he might be up to.

That was so unlike me. Usually, I was worrying over what he could possibly be up to, where he was, was he okay. The last two days, nothing. I was either thinking of school or…

I walked back to where Hinata was sitting. I quietly took up my lunch, trying to put something in my stomach before his class. Naruto came back a few moments later, taking the seat beside her.

"What's with you?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're getting all defensive about this teacher like you used to with Sasuke." So he had noticed as well. I had to give him more credit than usual.

"I am not," I smiled. He narrowed his eyes again. "I just like his class," I defended.

"Sure," he rolled his eyes again.

"Naruto, just drop it," Hinata said as she looked him in the eyes. At the force of her tone, Naruto did as he was told. "You need to eat lunch too," she said faintly. I was proud of her for taking some action, though I was a little upset that I could not defend myself.

I couldn't because it was true, I just didn't know it at the time. I tried to deny it to myself for a little while anyway. I sat down and ate my lunch silently, reading my biology ahead of time. I would have to come to school Friday alone, because of the lab schedule.

"Here he comes back," Naruto said, pointing again. Hinata took his arm and held it against her. "Your crush," he said loud enough for the passing professor to hear. I blushed to the roots of my hair as he passed. If he heard, he gave no other indication than a slight nod. He was holding his book and his cup of coffee from Starbucks.

"Naruto, please stop that," I said. "It's not true."

"Yes it is," he argued. I could see no point in continuing and just stopped it. We had his class soon enough. I glanced through the English chapter he had assigned. I was ready to answer should no one else in the class be. I wasn't aiming to be teacher's pet, I just wanted to do well, and prove myself.

"Are you ready for his class?" I asked Hinata.

"Yeah, I think so," she nodded, blushing as well. I heard Naruto growl a little. "I think maybe today it will be easier."

"I hope so," I nodded, not that the other day was too hard or anything. I felt butterflies rise to the top of my stomach and I felt that my lunch might come back. I pasted a smile on my face as I listened to Naruto babble about something.

I wondered what we would have in store. Would it be another essay? Would we be going over the chapter? Would there actually be anyone left?

"Sakura!" Hinata's raised voice broke my thoughts.

"Hm?"

"Time for class."

"Oh." I shook my head, clearing the worries, as I followed them. Now I understood how Hinata probably felt yesterday. I wasn't feeling so hot, but I kept my bright smile on.

We walked in just before time for the class to start. The room had the same few that were left from the first day, mostly women. They continued talking amongst themselves, ignoring the three of us. We sat and waited. He was late again.

"Good afternoon class," he said, walking in with the coffee and book. I saw a brief case hanging off his shoulder. He glanced at us, nodding in my direction as he set his things down. I was trying not to flatter myself too much. He couldn't have been nodding at me, my mind countered. He took out the papers we had turned in then leaned against the front of the huge desk. "You probably want these back," he stated, holding up the stack. From where I was sitting, I could see the thick red ink covering the first one.

"The truth is, this class needs more work than I thought regarding simple essay directions. When I call your name, please come and collect your paper." He began to sift through the stack, calling out classmates, not even looking at them as they came up to him.

The stack disappeared and I realized that he had not called me out. Hinata was looking pale again and Naruto had pulled his face into a particularly nasty glare as they surveyed their papers. I wondered what they made on the paper. Curious, I raised my hand, to ask where mine was.

"Sakura, just talk to me after class." Every pair of eyes in the room, turned to look at me. I blushed under their intense gazes. I kept my smile and nodded. "The rest of you, you have the whole weekend to revise that for a better grade. Now, for the remainder of the class I will have you fill out a study guide from the first chapter, from memory. This will be easy if you read the chapter as you should have. It should give you pointers on how to write the essay the correct way. You should also be studying your vocabulary words as there will be a quiz on Monday over the first thirty."

He passed out another stack of papers. The study guide was several pages thick, but he was right, I found it easy. I glanced up at him every now and again, to find out what he was doing. He was reading the book Jiraiya had given him yesterday, glancing up every now and again at the class, then me.

I wondered what he wanted to talk to me about after class. I continued filling out the study guide, wondering what kind of good this was going to do us. I wasn't going to question his methods though; he was the professor after all.

"Time," he said, looking at all of us. I sighed and set down my pencil, twisting my wrist some to get the cricks out. I was in no hurry to leave. The shuffling of books surrounded me as my classmates and friends put their things away and made to leave.

"Teacher's pet," Naruto whispered.

"Shh," Hinata quieted him, as she took his arm. "We'll wait for you outside," she smiled as she glanced at Kakashi. I wondered if I was in some kind of trouble. But, it was only the third day of school, how would I be in trouble?

Once everyone was gone, he motioned me over to his desk. I could feel those butterflies again, getting all excited and threatening to leave. I kept the smile on my face, as usual, like nothing was wrong. I forced my feet to move as I came to stand in front of him.

"You wanted to see me Professor?" I asked, shuffling my feet a little.

"Yes, you were wondering about your paper right?" I nodded, wondering where the hell this was going. "I'm keeping it," he said, amusement thick on his smooth voice.

"Oh," I blushed, looking away from him. "Is that all?" I asked, when neither of us spoke for a few moments.

"Well, there was one more thing I wanted to ask you. This is hypothetical of course, but if you were offered a small job would you take it?"

"Well, that would depend," I stated.

"Like an assistant. This is all hypothetical of course."

"Oh, well I would probably take it then." I smiled and nodded. I still didn't see what he was getting at.

"Thank you for your honest answer," he nodded as well. "I won't hold you any longer today. Tomorrow, Sakura."

"Tomorrow Professor Kakashi."

"Just call me Kakashi."

"Okay, Kakashi," I said, feeling his name roll off my lips. I wondered how it would sound if we-no had to stop the thought. I felt the blush run up my neck and to my cheeks as I all but ran from the room. How could I think about him while he was sitting there, watching?

I ran enough to put some distance between us before I leaned against a wall to catch my breath. I could not believe I had just done that. But then he probably didn't even notice. I collected my wits as I walked out of the school for the mundane ride home.

"So, what did he want to see you about? You get in trouble?" Naruto pried, poking my shoulder.

"No, he just wanted to tell me that he was keeping my paper."

"Then why are you so flushed?"

"What?" My hands automatically reached for my face.

"Yeah, you're looking like Hinata," Naruto continued.

"That does it!" Naruto and I fought like high school all over again. I thought the bus driver was going to throw us off. But, after that Naruto did not speak another word about it the rest of the night. We parted ways at the bus stop for homework and dinner.

I wondered what Kakashi had wanted my opinion for. You usually didn't ask questions like that and then not want something. But maybe he did. I was so horrifically confused I just tried to stop thinking about it and concentrate on my work for the next day.

My parents came home later, before I went to bed, but they only asked minimal questions about school. That was fine, because I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to stop myself from going on and on about Kakashi.

"Well I am glad things are going so well for you at school," my mother smiled tiredly.

"Yeah our little college girl," my father said as he ruffled my hair. "Make us proud."

X

"And so, that was how my date ended last night," Jiraiya told us, showing off his blackened and swollen eye. He had taken the whole class time to tell us about it. I was convinced there was another story other than the one he told us, but I was going to keep my mouth shut.

"Um, what about the history lesson?" another student asked, raising his hand in the air bravely. Jiraiya sighed, his whole heavy body rising and falling with the movement as he touched his fingertips to his forehead.

"Just fill out this study guide and read the chapter." He passed out the papers. I figured he probably borrowed them from someone else, since he didn't look like the type to make them up. "Test, will be in probably weeks from now. Anyway, the research is still going on, if I have any takers." He looked at me and winked. I shook my head and he pouted.

"So, it looks like time to go. Just fill that out before next class I guess. See you later." I grabbed my books and headed for Iruka's room before Jiraiya could keep me afterward.

X

I looked all over for Naruto and Hinata before I headed to the spot from the day before. I lay in the cool grass, looking at the blue sky, my arms resting behind my head. I would miss it when the days would get shorter with the coming of winter.

"Are you busy?" a shadow asked as it leaned over me. Its face got closer and I realized it was Kakashi.

"No, I'm just studying skyology," I laughed awkwardly, wondering where the hell that came from. It wasn't a real word at all and I was supposed to have dazzled him with my intellect. I blushed deeply and sat up as he sat down, taking his hands from his pockets.

"Oh, can I study with you?" he laughed as he looked up.

"Go right ahead." We both sat there with the sounds of the city and school fill in the space.

"Well, you know, while this is very interesting, I have something I want to talk to you about." My heart jumped into my throat; usually when your teacher wanted to speak to you, it was because you were in trouble.

"Oh?" I asked, turning my green eyes to look into his one visible one. I bit my bottom lip.

"Well, you know that question I asked you yesterday?" I nodded, still biting. "Well, it was actually real. How would you like to be my assistant?"

"What would I be doing?" I asked, wondering if it was anything like I thought Jiraiya's research consisted of.

"Just helping with papers and rather small tasks that wouldn't interfere with your school work so much. What do you say? Do you accept?"

"Yes, I do," I smiled brightly, wondering what I was getting myself into.

"Excellent. You can start either today or tomorrow."

"It doesn't matter to me."

"How about we just start tomorrow after your lab?"

"How did you know?"

"Ninja skills," he said, holding a finger to his mask. "Actually, I looked at your class schedule."

"Oh, I see. Do you usually ask for assistants?" I wanted to know honestly, if I was the first or the many in a long list.

"Actually, never. It was something I thought I would try," he shrugged. "So, consider it an extreme honor. Already, you're not like other students Sakura." I blushed some. He lay back in the grass, beckoning me to join him.

"Thank you," I said. "I will try my best." I lay back in the cool grass with him.

"So Sakura, tell me something."

"What would you like to know?"

"Anything. Just tell me something that has been on your mind." My mind went blank when he asked me. Isn't that funny? It seems to happen anytime anyone asks you. I tried to think of anything that might sound interesting to him.

My mind wrapped around relationships and I was pouring things out to him before I could stop them. That would be things I probably hadn't told anyone but Ino. Kakashi didn't seem to mind though, he listened patiently, commenting or even asking questions every now and again.

I loosened up and forgot how awkward it was for me to be telling these things to anyone, much less someone I didn't know too well and had only just met.

"Oh shit," I cursed as I remembered to check the time. If I didn't leave right then, I would late to math. I blushed when I realized I had cursed in front of him.

"What?" he asked lazily.

"I have to go to math," I said as I stood up and grabbed my books.

"Wait, I'll walk you," he said, waving his hand to divert my attention so I wouldn't walk off.

"Okay, thank you." He stood up, dusting himself off as he led the way. He walked at a leisurely pace, not afraid that I would be late.

"Come on," he said, chuckling as he turned around slightly. I hadn't realized I wasn't moving. I jogged after him, feeling dumb.

"I hate being late," I complained. I had always been taught to do things in a timely manner, my whole life.

"Don't worry about it. You're in college now. It won't matter if you're a few minutes late. No one is going to cut you or anything," he chuckled again.

"I know, but still." I adjusted my books; they were threatening to fall from arms.

"Do you want some help with those?" he pointed.

"No, don't worry about them," I said, waving away his hand. Without listening to me, he took some of my load anyway, holding them easily under his arm.

"It's no trouble." We walked into the building in silence, the halls now mostly empty since classes had either ended for the day or started back. We stopped outside of Asuma's classroom; he was already lecturing as he drew something on the board. "I will see you tomorrow then, after your class. Just meet me at my office."

"Alright, tomorrow." He handed my books back, our hands brushing slightly. He nodded and waved as he walked down the hall again. Before I could have anymore thoughts of him, I slipped into Asuma's room and hoped that no one would notice.

They did notice of course. I blushed to the roots of my hair and waited for class to be over. I knew that Naruto would berate me with questions later.

Bur surprisingly, he didn't. Of course, him singing teacher's pet over and over again was worse, much worse.

"Naruto, shut up!" I screamed, threatening him with my fist. He was mostly unfazed by me at all for he continued all the way to the bus stop and even on the bus. I tried to hit him numerous times, but he ducked all of them. This did little to my quick temper.

But he had a point earlier. I wouldn't get so defensive about it, if it wasn't true.

When I got home, my parents were not. I figured as much. But before I could get in the door, my phone vibrated. Thinking it was my parents I dropped my keys and checked. It was Ino, replying to my text message instead.

I made it in the house before I checked to see what she had typed back. I could see why it had taken her so long to reply back. It said the normal stuff like "I'm alright and school is busy" then what I guessed "I have a new guy" and then something I didn't, "Want to go to a club not too far away from your school tomorrow night?"

That sounded like Ino as well, wanting to go out and do something crazy. A club though? Were we even allowed in? I texted back with that question as I started on dinner. I was starving from spending the whole afternoon with Kakashi instead of eating.

A few minutes later my phone vibrated again. _Yes, we can go as long as we're out by a certain time. Naru and Hin are invited. _

I guessed my parents wouldn't mind me going to meet her. I texted the couple to see if they wanted to go, before I texted her back saying I would at least be there. After more texting instead of eating, we all had it set up to meet at around nine at a club called Tango a few blocks from the school.

It would be a nice way to compare notes from the first week separated. I was right about what I had confided in Kakashi earlier, about Ino probably already having a guy. I figured this would be one of the few times I would actually hear from her.

When Ino got boyfriends or crushes, it tended to drive us apart because she would choose them over me. I guessed I would have done the same thing if I could ever get a boyfriend. Pushing the matter to the back of my mind, I focused on school work, even if it wasn't due until the next week.

X

It took me forever to get up the next morning for my lab. I would be doing this for a while. Hardly anyone went to the school on Fridays. Naruto and Hinata would not be there. As I was riding on the bus, trying to keep my thoughts in order, I remembered that I was supposed to meet Kakashi after labs.

I swore under my breath some. I hadn't bothered getting too fixed up, my hair only half brushed, my clothes rather old and torn in places. The first lab was something to do with earthworms. I didn't find any reason to dress up. He would think me a slob for sure.

Professor Tsunade paired us off with a live earthworm, to watch it and make observations about things it liked or things it didn't. My partner was a guy named Hiro, who was more interested in the girl in the group next to us than in what the worm was doing. The worm felt the same way, for it tried to crawl away. I was thinking of how the meeting with Kakashi would go.

"Um, our worm found something it likes," my partner said, disrupting my thoughts. The worm had crawled to the edge of the table and was about to take a nose dive.

"No!" I shouted, grabbing for it and putting it back on the paper towel. For the rest of the lab session, that was the only thing the worm liked. I was as bored as our subject.

"Is everything alright?" Tsunade asked as we cleaned up the classroom before we left.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess it's just Friday," I smiled. She nodded in understanding as she moved off to do something else, the long blond ponytails she had swishing with the movement.

As soon as she dismissed us, I took off ahead of the crowd toward the faculty suites. It took me a little while to find his office, since I got lost in the maze of their part of the school. I had walked past it when his voice called out to me.

"Sakura?" I stopped in the middle of the hallway before backing up some to the door I had blazed past. Kakashi was seated behind another desk, bent over paperwork, and looking tired.

"There's your office," I sighed, relieved.

"Come on in." He got up, clearing papers out of the only chair so that I could sit down. I took the seat, reluctant to set my things down among the sea of paperwork, for fear they would be lost.

"Do you ever clean this place?" I laughed.

"Only when I have to or when reports go missing." He raked a hand through his grey locks tiredly.

"How about we clean it up today then?"

"Sounds like a plan, then maybe I'll actually be able to think?" he chuckled.

"Organize the room and the mind will follow," I grinned as I picked up a stack of papers and began to sift through them.

Once we got started, the time flew. We went through every piece of paper he had in the room, using folders to organize it for him. The folders had been buried so long they had a layer of dust covering the plastic wrapper that they came in.

I didn't see how he got anything done in the office the way it was. It wasn't a big space, probably about the size of a large bathroom at the most. He needed all the organization he could get to make the most.

I bent down at the waist to retrieve something and could have sworn I felt eyes on me. Feeling self conscious, I bent down at the knees and picked it up.

"You didn't feel like getting out of bed this morning either?" he asked, nodding toward the way I dressed.

"No. I can tell you didn't either." I was wearing an old pair of sweat pants with a tank top and my oldest pair of flats. He was wearing an old pair of jeans with a black top and his usual mysterious face covering and eye patch.

"I'll remember that," he chuckled. "Actually, you look fine."

"You're just saying that to be nice."

"Actually, I shouldn't say that, but no one is around to know." He began to work with the papers again, leaving me in a stunned silence. He was right, as my professor he shouldn't have said that. But I wasn't going to tell.

Before I could stop my sick imagination, I got a glimpse of a daydream. The school would be abandoned and we would lie in the grass, his fingers intertwined with mine as he pressed his body close, grinding his hips into mine, and whispering dirty things in my ear. The material of our clothing would create small noises on its own as we would create friction between our wanting bodies. His fingers gripping mine would tense, turning the skin white.

I would be able to feel his pulsating desire for me between the clothing separating us as he press that mask to my skin and tease me with ideas of what he was going to do. My legs would hook around his waist, trying to pull him in closer, wanting every part of him, for the very thought of being with him in such an intimate manner set my body on fire.

He would moan my name, through lustful lips, dragging it out and pausing for air "Sa-kur-a."

"Sakura?" I heard, wondering why he would ask it as a question if we were making love.

"Hm?" I asked, licking my lips. I still wasn't aware that I wasn't in a daydream.

"Are you okay?" I felt a real hand close on my shoulder as I looked up. His one visible eye was full on concern as he asked me again.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," I blushed. Had he been able to see my thoughts? He looked at me so intensely for a second that I was sure he had. Or maybe I had messed up and said something out loud.

"Good, I was kind of worried there. You just faded out. Maybe we should take a break? Get some fresh air?"

"Yeah, that would probably be a good idea with all the dust in the room."

"Alright then. Come on, just leave your things here." He let go of my shoulder, putting that hand in his pocket, and using the other to beckon me. I grabbed only my purse. "Just leave that as well."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, it's fine. Come on." I left my purse sitting on top of my lab book as I followed him from the office. He locked the door behind us. "Do you drink coffee Sakura?"

"Yeah, every morning and sometimes at night."

"Good. I drink more of it than I need," he shrugged as we walked out of the faculty suites. "I should just get a coffee maker to keep in my office."

"Where would you keep it?" I asked, knowing full well he had no room.

"Oh there is always room," he chuckled, "even if I had to keep it in my lap while working on papers. I wouldn't mind."

"What if you spilled it?"

"Ah, that would be a problem. I guess I'll have to keep going out for it then," he chuckled. We walked out of the school in silence as we headed for the Starbucks not too far away. I could see club Tango on the way.

"Wow, Ino wasn't kidding," I blurted.

"About what?"

"The club not being far from the school." He looked at the closed club when I did.

"Oh, you're going there tonight?" he asked, raising his one visible eyebrow.

"Yeah," I blushed as we continued on at a brisk pace.

"Nice place," he said. "Been there a few times. You're going to drink aren't you?" he joked, ruffling my hair.

"Of course I'm going to," I joked back. "Can't pass up a good drink."

"Oh I see. You'll probably get all the good-looking guys in the club to buy you at least one. I know your type," he chuckled as we entered the coffee shop. He took my drink order, protesting when I said would pay him back with an "it's alright, I got it", and then made me wait by the door.

Everyone working behind the counter knew him by name, even asking who I was. I blushed when he told them. I guess he came in there a lot. They had the order ready before too long.

"Sakura, you probably want sugar in yours right?" I nodded.

"But I'll fix it," I said, walking over to stop his hands. Our skin touched for a brief instant and I felt like I had been electrocuted.

"Don't worry. Just two packs?" he asked.

"Yeah." He handed the drink to me, stirred and ready to drink. "You didn't have to do this you know."

"Sakura, it is no trouble. You're helping me get the office straight after all. You should get a badge of honor just for that task, but coffee will have to do." The coffee warmed my hands as we headed back to the school. "Just let someone do something nice for you for a change alright?" I could tell he was amused without even seeing the rest of his face, just from the inflection of his voice in the sentence.

"Alright," I nodded. I sipped at the warm liquid. It tasted better than usual for some reason. I glanced at my professor while he wasn't looking, noticing just how handsome he really was in the late morning-early afternoon light of the city.

With our senses recharged with caffeine, the office was cleaned up in no time and he dismissed me to go home and get ready for my weekend.

"See you later Sakura," he said, waving.

"You too Kakashi." Of course, I thought later would be more like Monday. I finished my cup of coffee on the bus, feeling rather pensive about the whole morning. This was just a school relationship, not a regular relationship; I tried to convince myself that it was nothing more than it appeared.

But I could still feel his heavy hand on my shoulder and the one that touched my hair. I sat and replayed his comment over and over in my head too. He had seemed pretty serious while saying it. Instead of trying to banish him from my thoughts, I let him linger in the back. Maybe a crush on a teacher wasn't such a bad idea after all. I mean, it was just a crush right?

I fooled myself for the same way for a little while too.

X

I took a shower and got ready for the club, deciding that a black mini skirt and black zip-up vest would be fine. I let my hair air dry and didn't even bother with much make up or nice shoes as I headed for the bus stop.

I had left a note saying I would be meeting Ino for a get together and not to expect me home early. It was the truth. I just didn't say where the get- together would be. I figured they would be tired anyway and would probably just head to bed.

I was excited about seeing Ino after a whole week of exciting occurrences. Naruto and Hinata joined me on the bus stop, but I didn't mention about my morning with Kakashi to them. It never came up.

"I wonder what kind of wack-job Ino is dating now," Naruto grumbled.

"Naruto, be nice alright?" Hinata asked, wanting to avoid a confrontation. Ino had not dated some of the nicest guys in high school.

He grumbled an "alright." I wondered why Ino had picked a club of all things to meet at. She knew that I didn't dance. Every school function I had been dragged along to that involved dancing, I had played wallflower with everyone else. I had little self confidence in my abilities.

"Are you going to dance?" Hinata asked.

"I don't know. I might," I smiled, at least for her sake.

"We're going to," she blushed as she looked at Naruto.

"That's great!" My phone buzzed with Ino's answer of where to meet her before we went in.

Once we stepped off the bus, we hurried to the outside of the club, looking for Ino's tell-tale ponytail. She saw us and waved, dragging over someone that was taller than her.

"Sakura!" she cried, grabbing me in a rib-crushing hug. Ino almost matched me in strength. "I've missed you all week!" I weakly replied the same until she let go. I felt like I could breathe again.

"Guys, I want you to meet my date, Genma Shiranui," she said as she hugged his arm. He smiled lazily and nodded at all of us. He looked old enough to be a professor, but I kept my mouth shut. Leave it to Ino to be just like me somehow, without even planning it.

We all exchanged formalities before we entered the club. They I.D- ed us right through, saying that we had to be out before eleven as club policy. I knew I probably wouldn't feel like staying until eleven and it would be no trouble for me to leave before then.

I ordered water from the bar, just to keep my hydration up. The club had dark colors like red and blues as lighting, with many things left in shadows. The heavy techno music flooded my ears and pulsed through my system. I could have easily gotten lost in the rhythm. There were already people out on the floor dancing.

"Sakura, I'm really glad you guys could meet us tonight. I figure after a week of school we could all use some cooling off," Ino smiled. "I know I could." She was drinking a virgin martini, I think.

"Yeah, it was one hectic first week," I agreed, taking a sip of my water.

"I met Genma on the first day," she smiled as she looked at him. He was looking at my hair though. "He's in my health class."

"Oh, I see," I said. "Cool." I felt a little awkward around them already, but the feeling intensified when they started kissing right at the table.

"Get a room," Naruto said as he and Hinata crashed beside me. He pulled her into his lap. If she was blushing, I couldn't tell under the lighting.

"Shut up Naruto," Ino said with a glare. Genma whispered something in her ear and her smile returned. "So, tell me about your first week."

I looked at Naruto and Hinata before I began to spill the details. Not all of them, keeping Kakashi to myself and for a later time when it was hopefully just me and her. She listened patiently before spilling about her own week, with help from Genma of course. All of us had to shout to be heard over the music.

It was just as I thought; she met him the first day, then by the end of the week they're dating. Ino was predictable to a fault. Naruto and Hinata moved out on the floor, leaving us there.

"Are you going to dance?" Ino asked. She always asked this, knowing the answer was no.

"I don't think I will. Go right ahead though."

"Well I hate to leave you here by yourself. Come and dance with me," she said. Her voice sounded a little different. Her drink must not have been virgin after all. She reached across the table and grabbed my hand. "Come on."

"Fine, "I sighed. She crawled across Genma as she dragged me toward the floor. I felt clumsy and awkward on the slick surface. I was glad that the lights seemed to blur things somewhat or else I would have turned and left right then.

She grabbed my body, bringing it to hers, as she began to wiggle against me. I felt extremely uncomfortable at first, but as I looked around, I noticed that everyone seemed to be dancing that way. I tried to move as fluidly as she did, but she was far more experienced than I was. She shook her head and swayed to the music, trying to help me loosen up.

I felt another pair of hands on my waist and saw Ino smile. I turned my head some, noticing that Genma was behing me, holding her hands over my hips. He began to dance against me like Ino was, me sandwiched in between them. They were both trying to give me encouragement of how to dance like everyone surrounding me, but it felt useless.

I swayed my hips with Ino's encouragement, her hands guiding the motions with Genma, as she made me lean my head against her. I could feel the music, but I could not make my body obey like it wanted to with primal dancing. I caught a sight of silver hair at the bar and wondered if it was Kakashi. I continued moving with them until the head turned around, holding a drink, and I realized it was.

I felt uncomfortable. I pulled out from between them with a smile, needing to sit down and collect my thoughts on how to get out. I bumped into several people on my way back to my seat, each time scared it was him. I took a few big gulps of water as I surveyed the scene.

I could see Hinata and Naruto on the floor, moving like Ino and Genma. I was a little jealous. The thought crossed my mind that Sasuke might be into these things, but was quickly replaced with Kakashi was more the type, since he was here, wasn't he?

I scanned the bar again, but didn't see him and wondered if it was a trick of the light. If maybe I had been imagining things. I felt my forehead, realizing that I was sweating and the skin was flushed like I had run a mile. No, I had to have imagined Kakashi because I was tired.

It was nearly time for us to be leaving anyway. Naruto and Hinata joined me at the booth before Ino and Genma. All of them were as flushed and as sweaty as I was.

"Time to get out of here," Ino said as she looked at the clock. "How about we do this again next week?" she asked. We all agreed, saving time and date for later as we tried to hurry out. We were hurrying past the bar when I spotted him again.

Kakashi was sitting there, looking rather lonely and nursing a beer while holding his book. I crashed into Ino's backside in my surprise, causing her to cry out. Kakashi's head shot up and I pushed her further to avoid him catching me.

I didn't know what it was. I mean, he knew that I was going to be there, I had told him, but I just didn't want him to see me all sweaty and rather disoriented outside of school I guess. We all stepped into the cool night of the city, cars rushing past us on the street as we said our goodbyes.

I was the only one out of our group that managed to stay awake on the bus ride home. But that was only because I was thinking of how I wished I could have danced with Kakashi. But my mind argued the consequences. My ears were ringing as I stepped into my house and got a shower, trying to wash the club smell off of me. My parents didn't even notice since they were already asleep.

I crashed out on my bed, hardly dressed, and already dreaming of a certain silver-haired professor at a club with me.

X

Author's End Note: Love it? Like it? Hate it? See any mistakes? Review.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Chapter four is finally here! I apologize for it taking so long. It is 19 pages in my word program. Longest yet. Anyway, there is another reason it was late. As you probably know, even if you don't, I am in college, soon to be sophmore myself, and I had finals several days last week and several this week and end of school, plus spring cleaning and such, so I have been working on this at night like always, but I just wasn't getting anywhere. It's hard to do that if you keep falling asleep in front of the computer while studying and writing at the same time haha. So, that's the other reason this is extremely late, or feels extremely late to me. Here we go:

About this chapter: It covers a whole week in one. Secrets revealed. New developments in relationships. Material that keeps this in a mature rating. Some action near the end, but you'll just have to read on to find out what I'm talking about. So, keep in mind that a whole week has now passed and I tried to keep it from feeling rushed so no lemon or anything quite like that. You'll probably figure it out about part way through the chapter what is going to happen at the end of the week, or even now, since I'm giving clues away.

So I apologize now if anyone is out of character, if I got information wrong, names wrong, words, pretty much anything in this chapter. Let me know and I will fix it promptly. I'm kind of happy with this chapter, but I'm not sure about it, like all of my others, at the same time. So please, if anything is wrong, don't hesitate to let me know. It won't hurt my feelings at all but will help me in the future to create more stories between them and possibly other characters as well.

And as always, you guys continue to surprise me with your reviews of this story. I humbly accept them and am still replying back after everytime as I feel it is polite to thank you guys right away since I always post never expecting one review. Complete lack of self-confidence myself. So I hope you guys don't mind me doing that. Really, I appreciate each and every one of you that reads this, like you have no idea, and words are really just failing me at the second. You guys are all just excellent!

Also thank you to those of you that hoped I got better from last time. It took me a while to get over my cold/infection thing, even now I still have good and bad days with it.

I would also like to mention, if you haven't checked my profile, to take a look around. On my deviant art account I have added some pictures of this pairing, mind you they're probably not very good. There are also pictures from other fandoms and such. I would also encourage you guys to add me on livejournal as I sometimes post stories and bits of things there, or if you want to get to know me better, etc. Don't be afraid to go for it! I always welcome new friends!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its charaters. The Beatles own the title of the story.

Rating: I also want to mention that this story is rated m for a reason: sexual themes and general sexuality, language, adult situations, etc. Also in this chapter, there is a mention of masturbation. If that bothers you, then just skip through it to the rest of the chapter. Sorry if it offends anyone in advance, just I felt that it was perfectly normal thing for her to engauge in.

Happy reading everyone!

* * *

She's Leaving Home

Chapter 4

The rest of my weekend went relatively boring. Of course, boring compared to the past week. I slept in late on Saturday, trying to make up for all the sleep I lost during the week. I did chores around the house with my mother and father, spoke with Naruto and Hinata, worked on school work, and searched for something to watch on TV.

I guessed future weekends would be taken up with homework and studying. I heard from Sai though, saying he was already doing well in school; not a surprise in the least.

The one thing I tried to do was keep my professor off my mind. All I could picture was him seated at the bar, looking lonely and nursing a beer. I was curious to see how it would feel to dance against him. I didn't try to stop the thoughts.

It wasn't that I minded dancing with Genma and Ino; it was kind of sweet how they wanted me to enjoy myself and partake of the experimentation period of my life. I would admit that I liked how Genma's body felt against mine, not that I was thinking about stealing Ino's boyfriend, because I wasn't, just that it made me feel sexy. I didn't even mind Ino dancing with me.

The whole night had felt surreal. I liked the lights in my eyes and the bodies close, all there for similar reasons like dancing and drinking. Ino had been right; it was a nice break after the first week of school. But still my thoughts lingered on him.

I figured he was probably rather good at dancing, or would be at the right moment. Sunday night I lay in bed mulling over it as I tried to fall asleep. Friday, his body had been more defined in the tight clothing. Probably mine too, but I didn't pay much attention.

I mean, the whole week he had looked nice, all dressed in black; but Friday it was nice seeing him look like a normal person instead of my sexy English professor. I wished I had said something to him at the club instead of freaking out and running. That just defined my maturity some.

It occurred to me that I didn't even know how old he was. From his unusual hair color, one would assume that he was older, but from his face he looked to be around thirty or so. He probably knew how old I was. So did that make it okay? I mean, could your professor also be your friend?

I tried to reason it all out but my eyes grew heavy with sleep.

X

"Hey, did you get the study guide filled out?" one of the guys at my lab table asked me. I was half awake as I turned to look and see who was requesting. It was Hiro from Friday.

"Yeah, about halfway." I remembered he was absent Wednesday and had probably not remembered Friday when he saw me.

"Can I borrow them real quick?"

"Fine." I handed them over as we waited for Professor Tsunade to appear. I returned to resting my head on folded arms. I didn't care that our earthworm had crawled across the table several days before. I wasn't sure why I was so tired aside from staying up half the night trying not to think about Kakashi.

I wondered what he would be wearing today in class. I wondered if I would see him before class again, or if he would offer to let me stay and help him out. I had avoided telling Naruto to save myself from ridicule and more songs.

"Sleeping through class already Haruno?" Professor Tsunade asked as she walked in. Ten minutes had passed before I had even realized it. My notes were sitting in front of me again.

"Oh no, not yet," I smiled, trying to not to blush at her catching me off guard.

"Wait until the end of the semester then," she told me. "Right now, we have to finish those notes, so pull them and prepare to develop carpal tunnel syndrome." She put her hands on her hips as she surveyed the class. They all seemed to be moving as slow as I was.

She didn't appear to be pissed off yet. But by the end of class was another story. Someone had spent the whole class time disrupting with stupid questions. She was not happy as she watched us leave with crossed arms. I was certain that if she could breathe fire, the whole school would be in flames.

I went to find Naruto and Hinata for lunch before his class. When I walked up, Naruto was groaning about something and Hinata was looking embarrassed.

"Do I even want to ask?" Hinata shook her head as I took the seat across from them.

"I got a lecture from my history teacher about classroom etiquette," he groaned as he rested only his head on the table, narrowing his eyes. "And we have a quiz Wednesday for it."

"Naruto, I don't feel sorry for you at all. Maybe you should prepare for Professor Kakashi's class before you get in trouble there." His head shot up and he began to sing another silly song about being teacher's pet. Would this happen every time I mentioned Kakashi? Forget telling Naruto about being his assistant. "Naruto! Shut up!" I yelled, trying to hit him on the head.

"Someone is sensitive," he snipped. "You do, you have a crush on Professor Kakashi."

"Ugh!" This time I jumped across the table and hit him directly on the head. He made me so mad with all of his shit sometimes.

"Ow!" he yelled, glaring at me as I moved back around the table, adjusting my clothing.

"Well, you deserved it," I said coldly. "Now please stop."

"Why should I?"

"Naruto, she'll destroy a few more of your brain cells," Hinata said. He groaned but lay off the teasing for a little while. "She is right; you should study for his class, since you spent the night at my house."

"You spent the night?" I asked. That was new. Kurenai wouldn't allow that I thought.

"Yes, I spent the night," he shrugged, but he had that devious smile. Kurenai didn't know.

"But Kurenai doesn't normally let you do that," I mentioned.

"Well, she wasn't home."

"But she would have noticed you when she came home right?"

"Not if she was on a date."

"Since when does she date?" Since when did I discuss Hinata's guardian's personal life?

"Since she met Professor Asuma," Hinata told us. Were professors at this school really just that desirable? I wasn't the only one who wanted one.

"Really?"

"Yeah, he took her out last night, and she got back late. She didn't even notice that Naruto spent the night, or if she did, she didn't care." Hinata was blushing to a new extreme and I felt bad for her telling me this, but she elected to, instead of me asking her.

"Wow Hinata," I wasn't completely sure what to say to her. "That's an interesting turn."

"I know. But it was one date, so it may not be anything other than Kurenai is lonely again." I simply nodded. The conversation was getting awkward and I wished there was something I could do to stop it. I wished I hadn't pursued the conversation though. At least Hinata understood how I felt for she promptly reprimanded Naruto for not working on his English work.

I also brushed up on it before the class so that I would be sure to be ready for anything he was going to throw at us today. I remembered that he had talked about quizzes at the beginning of every class. It made me wonder if that was just a scare tactic to get rid of insincere students or one of his teaching methods.

"Good afternoon class," he said, not looking at us as he entered late as usual. "Please clear your desks and take out a piece of paper and a pencil. We're going to have quiz." Of course we knew better than to groan. I could see a rather nasty expression cross Naruto's face when I glanced at him. "Not a long quiz, just a couple of questions. If you finished your study guide and read the next chapter like you 

were supposed to, then you will make a perfect score. Let's begin." He asked us several questions from the study guide and then several questions from the first of the chapter and the end of the chapter, I guess to be sure that we read the whole thing.

"Now, turn both the quiz and your corrected essay in for now. As for the rest of the time, I want you to write another essay, this time on one of the subjects on the board. Please write which topic you picked and begin. At the end of class, turn it in and hope that it is better than your first one."

Papers had appeared on my desk from all the people behind me. I neatened the stack up as he collected it first. I looked at the board behind him, trying to pick a topic that I could work with. The topic of "What is your definition of a gentleman or a lady? Explain" caught my eye.

Naturally, I picked that one. I tried not to picture anyone as I began writing, but I couldn't help myself, picturing a mix of Kakashi and Sasuke and some of what I had always thought. After I wrote it, I sighed, rethinking that he would totally think me an idiot for writing it.

He would read it and see just how immature I really was, or believed I was. Of course I surpassed a lot of people my age, okay well Naruto sometimes, but I couldn't help but feel immature compared to most people in my classes.

I mean, everyone in my classes were freshmen, just like me, but some of them were a lot older it seemed, like over twenty. We were asked to introduce ourselves in two classes and I was among the youngest.

I tried to do like Naruto and just stop thinking so much as I handed my essay in at the end of class. Naruto and Hinata had already walked out, leaving me again.

"I hope this dazzles me again," he laughed as he took the essay from me.

"I hope so too." My smile as not as bright and I guess that in the short time he had known me, he could tell; that or I was really easy to read.

"Something wrong?" he asked, placing the paper on the stack, folding his hand and looking at me. His one visible wasn't just black, it was flecked with red or possibly brown; it was hard to tell. "Sakura?"

"Oh sorry, no nothing is wrong." I wasn't aware that I was staring at him with my mouth slightly ajar. "I'm fine." He gave me another strange look before he continued.

"So, any boyfriend yet?" he chuckled.

"No, sorry," I blushed.

"Nothing to be sorry about. You didn't pick one up at the club last weekend?"

"No…"

"Oh, that's funny, because I saw you dancing with someone." He saw me? I could have fainted. I thought for sure he wasn't looking. Of course, then I was still in denial of him even being at the club. "It wasn't half bad you know?"

"Oh him? That was my friend Ino's new boyfriend Genma."

"Genma, you say?" he asked. I nodded. "As in Genma Shiranui?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that is what he said. You know him?"

"Yeah, he's a professor at another university, I think in health?" Ino was dating her professor already? I knew that we were a lot alike, but not that much. "He's your friend's boyfriend? The guy you were dancing with?" I had just spent the night rubbing against a professor. I blushed as I stood there, presented with my own shock.

"Yeah." I was feeling extremely faint now.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked. "You look pale. Maybe you should sit down." He guided me to my desk.

"He's a professor?" I asked.

"Yeah, but so am I. Is there something wrong?"

"No, I'm just surprised is all. I probably made an ass of myself."

"No, you didn't from what I could tell. You looked like you were trying to have fun with your friend. I guess she was the one in front of you?"

"Yeah, that's Ino." He was probably going to comment on how pretty she was in comparison to me. It sometimes felt like everyone did.

"Hm, she looks like Genma's type I guess. I don't really like blonds though." I couldn't believe we were sitting here having this conversation. Was this some kind of awkward day that I didn't know about? Did I miss a memo or something?

"Oh, I see." I bowed my head so that he wouldn't be able to look at my face as well.

"But there are a lot of things I do like," he told me, placing his fingers under my chin and lifting my face to look into his. His fingers were rather calloused against my soft skin and I could not stop the gasp from breaking past my lips. I had not been expecting him to do that at all.

I didn't know how to answer him again, so I just sat at my desk, staring at my English professor as he held my chin at his will. He seemed to be studying my face, searching for something. Or maybe he wasn't searching at all; maybe he found something he didn't like.

I didn't have enough self-confidence to believe that he found something he did like on my face. I didn't find much on my face that I liked; but of course when we look in the mirror we see something completely different from the rest of the world. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it wasn't me.

I became aware that we had been in this position for a while and I cleared my throat. Kakashi shook his head as if he had been in a daze as his fingers and hand dropped back to his side.

"Do you need any help today?"

"No, it's okay. You probably have something to do."

"No, not really. I'm sure Naruto and Hinata are already on the bus."

"Well, if you really have nothing to do. Then I'll make sure that you get on the bus on time, probably before dark. It's not safe for you to be out alone that time of the night."

"Thank you Kakashi." It still sounded awkward not to put professor in front of it.

"No problem. Come on, let's get these papers to my office." I hadn't thought of it before, but he would be reading my essay in front of me. He would be able to ask me what I was thinking. I gulped and instantly rethought staying to help.

I nodded my consent as he handed me the newest stack and I followed him from the room. I couldn't help but notice his toned body shifting through the shirt with every small movement.

My eyes traveled to his ass and I felt a guilty pang for a few seconds before it drifted into thoughts of how that looked-no, I shouldn't at school. I scolded myself and tried not to do it openly.

"Got yourself an assistant?" Jiraiya asked as he passed us in the hallway.

"Yeah, you could say that," Kakashi told him coolly.

"You don't want to lend her over for some of my research sometime?" Kakashi stopped just ahead of me, his shoulders visibly tensing as he turned to face Jiraiya.

"No, I can't do that to her Jiraiya," he said civilly. I wondered what was going on though, between them. It really seemed like Jiraiya was kidding about me, but Kakashi wasn't taking it as such.

"Alright, it didn't hurt to ask. Geeze, protective aren't you?" Jiraiya asked, scratching the back of his head. Jiraiya voiced what I was thinking. Kakashi was being protective wasn't he?

"Sorry, long day, students, you know. Just Sakura is my assistant and therefore my responsibility."

"Maybe I should get an assistant," Jiraiya grinned. They exchanged brief good-byes before Kakashi and I set off toward his office again.

"Sakura," he started seriously once we were in the privacy of his office. "Don't ever let him conduct research on you, even if you start to fail his class. Just come to me if he keeps propositioning you."

"Okay," I nodded. His one visible eye raked over me, being sure that I knew the seriousness of his statement.

"Good girl. Can you hand me those papers?" He pointed to the ones in my lap.

"Sure." Trying not to look at my paper on the top, I passed them across the desk.

"You really don't mind just keeping me company this afternoon do you? It gets kind of lonely in here grading papers in the afternoon."

"I don't mind at all. It gets lonely at my house in the afternoon," I confessed.

"Oh, parents work right?"

"Yeah, something like that." I really missed my parents more than I let anyone know. It seemed like they never had time for me. I mean, it had been that way since before high school, them never being home. But now that I was older, I realized that they were older as well.

"Anything you want to talk about?" he asked, looking up from reading the papers. "I'm listening." That phrase was enough to make me spill my guts to him.

I told him everything I had just been thinking about my parents and mortality as it goes. I felt a little strange telling him some of my deepest fears, but he didn't seem to mind. He listened patiently as he graded papers.

"Well Sakura, it seems like you're on the right track with wanting to spend time with them. I get the idea that you really love them," he said; I could see the faintest markings of a smile under his mask.

"I do," I said.

"Then try not to worry so much about it. At least you have parents to worry over," he replied softly. I felt a pang of guilt rush through me.

"You don't have parents?"

"No, not anymore," he told me as he leaned back in his office chair, the furniture creaking with the movement. He looked up at the ceiling as he twirled his pen around. "I miss them every day."

"I'm sorry," I replied as I bowed my head. I had not meant to bring it up.

"Why? What is there to be sorry about?"

"Well I don't know. I didn't mean to bring up such a painful topic for you."

"Sakura, it's not painful. Don't worry. I miss them but I have my memories," he said. He touched my hand to reassure me. "You did nothing wrong. Bring up any topic."

And so I did. I brought up whatever I could think of, from food to school work. He didn't seem to mind listening to me as he did so very patiently. I ask him about it a few times but he waved me on to continue.

"You don't find me immature or boring do you?" I asked, wanting an honest answer.

"No Sakura, not at all."

"Are you sure sir?"I pressed. I had to know. It was eating me up inside. I couldn't help but feel a little like he was lying. He wasn't though; I just didn't know it at the time.

"Sakura, I'm sure." I looked at the clock. It was nearly seven o'clock. I cleared my throat as he looked at me. "Something wrong?"

"Well um, the clock," I said.

"The clock is wrong?"

"No, just it's nearly seven and will be dark soon." I shifted in my chair uncomfortably.

"Oh, right. I told you I would get you on the bus before dark. Well, come on then," he nodded. He thrust his hands into his pockets as we set off. "Do you want some help with your books?"

"I've got them."

He took the English ones from me anyway, brushing off my objections with a wave of his hand with his phrase of "it's no problem." There was hardly anyone in the school as we walked past rooms devoid of students, save maybe a night class or two. The bus wouldn't be there for a little while, not until seven thirty I thought.

"You don't have to wait for me," I told him, not wanting to hold him up from important schoolwork.

"Sakura, you're my student, I have to make sure that you're alright. It's my responsibility."

"Well, alright," I relented. I figured he would sit there whether I wanted him to or not. He gave my books back.

"So you live out of the city I guess?"

"Yeah, next door I guess you could say."

"Oh yeah, I used to live there a long time ago. Well really about ten years? Maybe a little longer, with my parents."

"Oh, I see."

"I liked it there. Maybe I should visit sometime," he laughed. My spine stiffened as I did not understand if he was going to visit me or the town.

"Maybe you should," I told him with a smile.

"If I did would you show me around?"

"Yeah, I would love to."

"Then maybe I will. I'm sure it's changed since I lived there. All things change." I nodded. "Though maybe I should show you around the city sometime."

"That would be nice. I always feel so lost around here."

"Yeah, I can see how that would happen. Though you didn't have trouble getting to the club." He was back on that? Didn't he see other students there?

"No I guess not, since you took me for coffee that morning. Are you going to tease me about that all the time?"

"Yes, unless of course you want me to stop, thought it will be difficult," he chuckled.

"No I guess not, since you would probably keep it up all the time. Do you ever see any other students there or am I the only one?"

"Well, you're the only one I like there." He looked sheepish after he said it. "I meant that in a-well-nevermind," he sighed, raking a hand through his silver hair. I could feel my heart flutter some.

"It's okay," I smiled. "I think I understand."

"Are you going to be there this Friday?"

"I'm not sure. I think so. My friend Ino wants to meet again. It would be early of course."

"I understand, the under a certain age rule. Well, would it make more of an incentive if I was going to be there?"

"I guess," I blushed.

"I really wanted to see you last weekend, but I guess I arrived too late. You and your friends seemed to be in a hurry to leave and I didn't stay too long myself. It isn't as fun alone."

"Yeah, I didn't see you there," I lied, my face extremely red. "But I wish I had. I would have told you to come and dance with us or something."

"Dance?" he laughed.

"Do you dance?"

"Well, when it suits me or I have a decent partner," he shrugged. "You dance though, pretty excellent from what I could tell. Maybe you could show me a thing or two?"

"Kakashi!" I exclaimed, trying not to laugh.

"Hey, you're not bad. I guess you don't see it."

"Well not really."

"You should have more self-confidence in yourself," he said. "You have excellent potential." I remembered Jiraiya's words of he didn't give compliments often. Then either he was lying or he really liked me.

"Thank you," I bowed my head.

"No problem," he waved his hand. We sat in silence for a little while, just watching the sun begin to sink behind the skyscrapers in oranges and blood reds. We heard the bus coming as it blew exhaust everywhere; the doors squeaked when they opened. It was the earlier one I guess. "Have a good trip home Sakura. I'll see you tomorrow." He took my hand and led me to the doors.

"Alright Kakashi," I smiled as I boarded the bus. He gave my hand a small squeeze before letting it go and shoving his hands in his pockets. Once I was on the bus, I collapsed in a seat, trying to stop my heart from fluttering right out of my chest.

I guess it had been a gentleman's gesture, but I didn't care. He had been holding my hand for the briefest moment. I sighed as I sank back in the seat and tried to keep from squealing. If he wasn't coming onto me then I was horribly confused.

His comments and suggestive sentences were evidence enough. But maybe he was just a flirt? Maybe he played this way with everyone? Was it even right for him to be interested in me? Did I really care when I thought about it?

I continued to muse about it as I made dinner and reviewed homework that night. My parents were late getting home and were quiet as they ate dinner. I tried to make conversation with them, but it was unsuccessful. I guess something had happened during the day or they were really tired.

I went to bed on time, but I didn't fall asleep right away. In fact, if I didn't do something, I would never rest. So, I did something I probably hadn't done since middle school when I hit puberty.

I began to touch myself. Not only touch myself, but imagine it was Kakashi instead. Of course, after I started doing that, I began to enjoy it.

I placed my hand on my stomach as the other rested on my boy shorts. That hand began to move in circles, gently adding pressure. The other hand on my stomach began to trace lines under my camisole.

I slipped my hand under my shorts and began to gently rub all over my anatomy. I started using my fingers to gently work the lips, coating my fingers in my own fluids the more turned on I became.

I imagined it was his fingers and his hands touching me, stroking my body, teasing me. What I was doing was perfectly healthy; I remembered Ino confessing it to me in high school that she used to do it too.

Carefully, I slipped one of my fingers inside as I gasped from tweaking my nipple at the same time. I quietly moaned in the darkness and comfort of my room as the feelings began to grow more intense.

I wasn't sure how long I spent working myself up to my climax. I began to moan his name sometime too. I had slipped another finger inside, moving them at a study pace as the other clutched my sheet. I bit my lip sometimes, trying to quiet my cries.

My fingers no longer felt like my own as they continued until I cried out his name like a mantra and slightly arched my back off the sheets. I lay gasping, my fingers still inside me and his name whispered. I could not believe I had just done that.

I stood up from my bed as soon as I came to my senses, my knees weak and trembling from my intense orgasm. I stumbled to the bathroom so I could clean myself up.

As soon as I got back to my bed, I was so tired. I had never had an orgasm like that. In middle school it had been more of an experiment and learning experience than as a way to get to sleep. I only knew it helped because of Ino telling me that was how she got to sleep some nights.

I still could not quite comprehend that I had just pleasured myself and pictured my English teacher. But it made me wonder if he was doing something similar. I knew guys masturbated more than girls, but it was healthy for both.

Ino was right though; it did help me get to sleep. As soon as I shut my eyes, I fell asleep.

X

"Where did you go yesterday after class?" Naruto asked as he poked me before I went to political science. It was the only time we saw each other before math.

"I had something to do for Kakashi."

"Kakashi huh? Professor Kakashi? What did he want? In your pants?"

"Naruto!" I punched him in the shoulder as hard as I could, knowing it would bruise for such a remark.

"I was kidding Sakura, jeeze. Why are you spending so much time with him? He's a professor."

"Well," I started. Now it was time to fess up I guess. "I'm actually his assistant."

"With what? Why would you want to spend more time at school?" He wrinkled his face up at the thought. I hadn't prepared an answer for this, so I had to think fast on my feet.

"Because he ask me and it will look good on a job application."

"You really are a nerd huh?" he teased as he elbowed me in the ribs. But he didn't tease me any further about it. Jiraiya hadn't offered his research either today.

I mulled this over in Iruka's class. I found his extremely easy as all I had to do was read the chapters and show up for lectures and tests. I didn't have to understand government to its fullest, just had to make at least a B.

I figured I would probably have an A. My ears really perked up when I heard him mention something about Naruto, but I brushed it off as something negative and continued on my notes.

After class, I hurried out to my favorite spot on the lawn. Kakashi was already waiting under the tree as he waved me over, holding his familiar orange book. This is really where the pattern started for how my weeks would be spent.

We shared my lunch and chatted for a while. I got him to help me with my homework some. It was comfortable, spending time with Kakashi. I did most of the talking during these sessions and I would always ask did he mind, but he would softly reply that he liked the sound of my voice.

When it was time for me to go to class, he helped me up, his hand in mine. I could look not away from his one eye. His hair was shining in the late afternoon sun as usual.

"You look nice today," he told me. I blushed.

"Thank you." I had worn a black skirt that came down to about mid-thigh with a maroon top. He nodded as we set off for math.

"Sakura, what do you think of student-teacher relations?"

"I'm not sure sir. Can give you give me an example?"

"I mean, being friends with your professor. Do you think that is acceptable?"

"Yes," I answered surely.

"Thank you. I agree. There are some that do not, but I don't see anything in the rules about it." So he was getting in trouble for hanging out with me?

"Are you in trouble?"

"No, just some of my colleagues aren't very happy. But, I won't get in trouble."

"Oh okay, as long as you don't get in trouble."

"Don't worry so much about me," he said, ruffling my hair. It felt so good a shiver raced down my spine. "You just concentrate on paying attention in Asuma's class."

"I will. Don't worry so much about me either." I reached up to run a hand through his hair as well. He didn't hesitate or move away from me and my fingers connected with the locks.

They were soft, just like I thought they would be. My slender fingers moved through them easily. I let my hand linger a little more than I intended, but Kakashi didn't seem to mind or notice.

"Alright. See you later Sakura," he waved.

"See you later Kakashi!" I called brightly. Yes, I would see him later among my thoughts as I lay in bed. Naruto and Hinata didn't ask where I had been; instead they ask did I help Kakashi alright. Of course I didn't feel the need to set them straight.

X

The rest of the week went just like Monday and Tuesday. I stayed after school to keep Kakashi company on Wednesday and run errands for him, then Thursday we spent the whole afternoon together under the tree.

Of course in my off time at home, I did my best to keep on top of my homework and assignments. Of course in Kakashi's class, my essay was another that he kept.

Thursday night I got another text from Ino. She wanted to meet Friday night at the same time. I wondered while I texted Naruto and Hinata if this would become a weekly thing.

But, now I would be able to tell Kakashi that we would for sure be there. I would have biology lab in the morning and then I was staying afterward to help him.

"Hey honey, have you heard from Ino or anyone?" my mother ask as she and my father ate dinner with me Thursday night.

"Yes I have."

"How are they doing?"

"Ino and Sai are doing well in school. She already has a boyfriend." I neglected to tell my mother it was her health professor.

"That sounds like Ino," she agreed.

"What about Sai?" My father admired his work. Sai painted a picture for him several months ago to hang in his office.

"He is doing well is all he told me."

"I knew he would. That boy has such talent. You know everyone that comes in my office at work comments on his picture." I nodded.

"Yeah he does."

"What about Naruto and Hinata. Do they seem to be enjoying school?" my mother asked.

"Yeah, they do. Even Naruto, which surprises me." He hadn't complained all week.

"Me too. He just doesn't strike me as the type that goes to college." I nodded. It was best just to agree with them.

"Um, do you guys mind if I go and hang out with Ino tomorrow night again?"

"I don't think it will be a problem. You hung out with her last weekend and everything was fine. Where are you guys going?" The phrase that could kill any teenager. I had to think fast again.

"Um just to the mall in the city to see a movie. We might be back late though, bus schedules you know?"

"Oh alright. What are you going to see?" my father asked.

"Oh a chick flick I think. You know with lots of sobbing and emotion. We haven't decided yet." It was so easy to lie to them. I was always so honest. But if I had gone off for college I would have gone anyway, just there would be no one asking questions.

"Ugh okay, never mind, spare me," he smiled. "I don't want to know. Are Naruto and Hinata going with you?"

"Yeah, probably."

"Well sounds like fun," my mother said. Both of my parents were smiling at me. I could not believe they believed me, but I wasn't going to question it. I gave them a bold smile of my own as we continued with a rare dinner.

X

"Can you hand me that bone?" my partner Hiro asked. I handed it over so that he could measure it in centimeters and then convert it to millimeters.

Professor Tsunade was making us learn how to convert things to the metric system as well as different kinds of microscopes and their different parts, and then identify different cells with them.

Of course she would be testing over this stuff. Of course, she had to put us in partners again. Hiro and I had decided to divide the work. He would measure everything and I would deal with the microscopes. He claimed that I would be using one more than him anyway. He was a History major.

I would have rather worked with them anyway as I had higher marks in school than he probably did in Sciences and I already knew a lot about them.

"Good work you two," Professor Tsunade told us as she passed. We would be finished before the other pairs. Before we left, we had to get her seal of approval. Piece of cake.

X

"You two are going to go far," Tsuande told us as we left the classroom. I had been right. We had finished early.

"So what are you doing after this?" he asked as we grabbed our things.

"I'm actually on my way to help my English teacher with something."

"Oh, okay cool Sakura. See you in class Monday then," he smiled as he waved.

"Alright, see you Monday Hiro." He looked like he wanted to tell me more or ask something but he left instead. I brushed off the awkwardness as I headed for Kakashi's office. His door was open and he called me in.

"Have a good lab?" he asked, running a hand through his hair. I noticed that he seemed to do this a lot around me.

"Yeah I guess. Professor Tsunade was in a good mood today." Wednesday she had not.

"That's always good. I hate being on the wrong side of her wrath."

"Yeah, I would hate to be there." We both gave small laughs.

"Well, today I have file organizing for you and you should have stories for me right?" he chuckled.

"Yes of course Kakashi," I smiled as I took the papers from him. "I also have news for you."

"Is it good or bad?"

"Good."

"For me?"

"Yes," I laughed.

"Well I can rule out a boyfriend, which is bad news to me. What is it?"

"We are going to the club tonight, around nine."

"Not bringing any other single guys are you?" he joked.

"Of course not Kakashi," I laughed.

"Well then, if you don't mind, I'll join you there."

"That will be great," I smiled.

"Excellent. Now, let's get to work so that you can go home and get ready."

"Right," I nodded.

X

Kakashi let me go home early this Friday. I just hoped as I got ready that he wouldn't stand me up. Stand ups sucked.

I had only been stood up once when I was a Junior in high school by none other than Sasuke Uchiha. The occasion had been a Sadie Hawkins dance near the end of October.

I had asked him to go with me and he agreed; then that night he stood me up. I fooled myself into thinking other things and believing his excuse for a long time before I actually found out the truth that he had just gone alone and danced with another girl before leaving.

Of course, that was high school, this was college and he was an older man, not a boy. I kept my fingers crossed as much as I could.

Tonight I would wear another mini skirt, this time a rather punk plaid one with black and pink from Ino with a low-cut, clingy, black top. It had long sleeves that were split up to the elbow. I teamed the whole outfit up with a pair of heel-less black boots that came up to my knees. I still did nothing with my hair or my face.

I left my parents a note before I headed to the bus stop to meet Naruto and Hinata. Hinata was dressed in a way I had never seen her before. She usually wore a jacket over every outfit she owned along with some kind of exercise pants.

But tonight, she was dressed in a fishnet top with hugging black Capri's, sneakers , and a black choker. She had even worn some makeup. It looked like she made Naruto dress up some.

He was wearing a matching black choker along with some kind of fishnet wife beater and black pants. His bright blond hair was even more spiked than usual.

"Hinata, how did you get him to dress up?" I laughed.

"Well um, I threatened to take away his um…" she blushed extremely red under the streetlight. "His sex supply," she confessed, looking faint. I about fainted with her. Naruto grumbled something.

"Hinata!" I laughed, blushing. "Poor you Naruto. But you both look nice." It was hard to imagine them having intercourse, but I guess they did. "How sneaky of you."

"I know," she smiled. "You look nice too Sakura. Meeting anyone tonight?"

"Well actually," I leaned in real close so that Naruto would not hear. "Kakashi is supposed to be meeting us."

"Professor Kakashi, the English teacher?"

"Yes," I nodded, trying not to squeal.

"I'm excited for you." We giggled about it until Naruto cleared his throat. The bus was coming. We boarded again, joking around until we reached our stop. I was trying to keep the butterflies in my stomach.

"Forehead!" Ino yelled across the street.

"Ino-pig!" I yelled back. Genma was standing beside her with a smirk as we walked up to them. I glanced around for Kakashi.

"You're wearing that skirt I let you have," she smiled. "It looks good."

"Thank you. You're wearing my shirt and it looks good." It was a light pink tank top.

"Of course. Shall we go in?" We all nodded, going through the identification process again. The club was louder tonight if anything. Before we found somewhere to sit down, we cruised the bar for drinks. I still saw no sign of Kakashi and wondered if he was just standing me up.

We sat around the same booth, exchanging information from the week. Ino did confess that Genma was her professor. Only two people at the table were surprised and neither of them was me. Ino was drinking again, thanks to Genma, who was old enough to buy drinks for both of them.

"Come on Sakura, I want to dance, just you and me again," she shouted over the din of the music. She grabbed my hand and pulled me from the booth to the dance floor, just like last week.

She held me against her as she began to grind into me from behind. I gave a withering look in the direction of our table. She was a little drunker this week than last week as she had more trouble standing up. She spun me around to face her and I felt someone come up from behind me.

I ground into them like she and Genma had been teaching me, thinking it was Genma. It wasn't until I saw Genma appear behind Ino, pulling her to him so that I could dance freely with whoever was behind me, that I tried to look.

Arms appeared around my waist and under the dark lighting I thought I recognized the hands. A strong body pressed flush against mine and someone's hot breath tickled my ear.

"Just dance with me," the smooth voice cooed in my ear. I had no other choice. Kakashi was holding me against him. He grabbed one of my hands, pulling it around his neck as he began to grind into my ass.

Our bodies were pressed close, causing friction. "Feel the music Sakura," he said as his hands moved to grip my hips. His fingers were firm as his helped my hips move with his. I allowed my fingers to tangle in his silver locks, like the couples around us.

I began to roll my body into his and he seemed to like that. I completely ignored the fact that he was my English professor. I was sweating and getting more turned on by the second.

Kakashi turned me around, pulling me to his chest as he parted my legs with one of his knees so that he could grind his crotch over my thigh. He wrapped his arms around my waist, burying his covered face into my shoulder. I shut my eyes and continued moving against him, hoping the liquid between my legs was going to remain there.

I could smell beer from somewhere before I realized it was him. It wasn't strong, maybe one or two drinks, but I could still smell it he was so close to me. I was losing all track of time and space just having him dance with me. If you wanted to call it dancing that was. What we were doing was more like vertical sex.

"Mm Sakura, I told you that you were good at dancing."

"Thank you," I blushed. I was glad that he wouldn't be able to tell under the lights. His hands moved down from my waist to cup my ass some. I gasped as I pressed against his chest more. I liked the things he was awakening in me.

"You know it is about time for you to leave though right?"

"No, I didn't." I pulled away from him some to check the time. It was nearly time for us to leave. I could see Ino and Genma getting off the floor with Naruto and Hinata.

"Come on, I'll walk with you and your friends." He took my hand in his larger one, leading me through the throngs of people and out of the club.

"Fun wasn't it?" Ino asked as she looked at us.

"Yes," I blushed. We headed for the bus stop.

"We have to do this more often," Ino smiled as she grabbed me in a buzzed hug, kissing my cheek. "Next week if we can."

"Alright Ino." I hugged her back as she and Genma headed off in another direction. Kakashi stood with me, Hinata, and Naruto under the covered bus stop. Hinata was leaning against Naruto, half asleep. I was feeling extremely tired myself and had no clue when the bus was supposed to be there.

"Are you alright Sakura?" Kakashi asked as he looked at me. His eye was full of concern.

"I'm just a little tired, that's all." I tried to be brave.

"Just rest until the bus gets here," he said, pulling me to his chest. There was nothing student and teacher about us right now. I wasn't even thinking about him as my English professor or how I would have to see him at school Monday.

I shut my eyes and hoped that I would regain some of my hearing. My head was pounding and I felt rather dizzy. I stayed propped against him until the bus arrived.

"See you Monday, Kakashi," I said as he helped me to the bus.

"See you Monday Sakura." He gave me an extra squeeze before he let me on the bus. I fought to stay awake the whole way home, keeping up a friendly banter with Naruto.

As soon as I got home, I fell into a dreamless sleep, not even bothering to change out of my clothes as I passed out on my bed.

X

Author's End Note: Love it? Like it? Hate it? Mistakes? Review!


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** Here's chapter five. Thank you so much for all the reviews on the last chapter! I'm really stunned and hope I didn't do bad with this chapter! Really, I'm just stunned at this point everyone and thank you so much for your support of this story; you really have no idea how much it means to me!

This chapter isn't as long as the last chapter and probably not as exciting. It's more a filler and foreshadowing chapter than anything else I guess. I'm not really all that happy with it and apologize in advance for it probably sucking.

I do want to mention that I used the english name for Might Guy, well which is Might Guy of course. Just easier for me when trying to write chapters. Some characters appear that have not been mentioned since the first chapter. Um, more like a look into how their relationship is budding. Drama of course, among friends and their families. Also, I have taken some liberties with the talents of the characters and such, you'll see. I hope that is okay, and now I'm worrried.

I also apologize if anyone is out of character, any mistakes, etc. It's about 3 am where I live and I've been so busy this week and I'm worn out now. So if you see anything, let me know, as always and I shall fix it as soon as time allows. Really, thank you guys so much for your feedback and attention and such for this fic! I just hope I haven't disappointed with this chapter.

Happy reading! Also: Please take note that this is a M rated fic as in it has things like language, sexuality, possible violence, adult situations, etc.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or its charaters or the title of this fic. I guess I really only own Hiro.

* * *

She's Leaving Home

Chapter 5

Was it all a dream? It had to be.

I did not dance with my English professor. The man that had made me his assistant without even knowing me for more than a week. I had not engaged in vertical sex with my teacher. But I knew I had.

I opened my eyes and let the bright sun from my drawn curtains reveal the truth to me.

I was still wearing my clothes from the night before. They smelled of smoke, beer, Ino's perfume, the bus, sweat, and a rather musky scent. I touched the fabric of my shirt, wishing so badly that I had his body against mine, just once more.

Hugging my shoulders, I slid off of my bed. I was in desperate need of a shower and yet at the same time, I wanted his smell, beer and musk to stay with me.

My hair was tangled and stiff, like my muscles from another kind of use; my clothing was wrinkled and I felt worn out. But I didn't really give a fuck. I had done something I was sure that no one else had done with him in at least a while; I had danced with him.

Before my parents could see me to question why I was dressed the way I was, I headed for the shower. I peeled off my clothing as I waited on the water to warm up. I hadn't bothered to look and see what time it was. Time wasn't important anyway.

As I leaned against the tiles, I recalled how commanding he had been with my body as opposed to how timid Genma had seemed with it. I figured it was because Genma had Ino whereas Kakashi had no one. His fingers had gripped but directed at the same time.

He had taken control of me. He had put my arm around his neck after all. His hair had felt amazing through my fingers. I could have spent the whole night playing with it. I wished I could have. His breath in my ear had been hot, but it was nice, because it was his.

I felt so protected with his arms around my waist, his face buried in my shoulder. He had been guarding me from all the other men in the club, from anyone else that wanted to dance with me. He had even touched my ass, something most guys that had even attempted had been slapped for.

He knew what he was doing to make me gasp like I had. I was new to all of this. I had never had someone touch me like he had; caused thoughts and fantasies as he had. Sasuke had never even done that before, made me feel like a woman. Kakashi was a man though, not some jerk-ass high school boy.

I rubbed my hands over my body, half to clean off and the other to see if I could feel just a pinch of what I had the night before. But nothing came to me. I wondered if it was because I was just worn out or something.

I scrubbed my hair and skin, as much as I didn't want to, just to keep his scent there with me a little longer. I figured my parents would probably be looking for me to wake up, if they were even home.

How was I going to face Kakashi Monday though? What was going to happen next? Last night had been a demonstration of how unlike student and teacher we were. What if someone else had seen us? Was Kakashi really going to get in trouble?

I tried not to think about it so much as I stepped out of the shower and headed back to my room to dress. My ears had stopped ringing and I could hear my mother speaking to someone in the living room. It was nearly one o'clock.

As soon as I was presentable, I headed down the hall, anxious to know who she was laughing with in the other room. It couldn't have Naruto as he irritated the piss out of her.

"Good afternoon mom," I said, giving her a hug from behind the back of the chair she was seated in. I looked up, in fear, only to find that Shikamaru was lounging on my couch.

"Hey," he said lazily, giving a small wave of his hand. I was rather surprised to see him in my house, not matter what day of the week.

"Hey Shikamaru," I smiled.

"I'll leave you two then, I'm sure you have a lot to talk about," my mother said as she left the chair. I took it, feeling like my knees were going to give out.

"How have you been?" I asked, confused as to why he would visit me, especially without Choji around as the two were hardly apart. I struggled to remember if Shikamaru was going to college or not. His mind would be excellent for it but his work ethic sometimes sucked.

"Too busy," he sighed. "School is a drag."

"I figured you would say that," I laughed. It sometimes felt as if everything was a drag to him. "Where are you going?"

"To the same school as you. I guess I have strange times compared to you, Naruto, and Hinata."

"Is Choji with you?"

"Yeah, for the most part."

"Oh, I see. Do you like any of your teachers or other classmates?"

"I have this one teacher named Asuma. We play some of the same games."

"Yeah, we have him too, as a night class, for math right?" Shikamaru nodded, only slightly.

"He said I need to apply myself more. I'm sure everyone will say that by the end of the semester," he sighed as he leaned back and looked at my ceiling for a minute.

"Well Shikamaru, you should apply yourself. You are a genius after all," I smiled, hoping to encourage him. God if I had a brain like his, I would use it all the time.

"I know," he sighed again as he looked at me. "It's just a drag."

"It doesn't have to be. I'm sure Professor Asuma will ride your rear end about work. He has been keeping up with Hinata well."

"What do you mean? I thought she was too shy to get in trouble."

"Well, the first day of class she fainted and then he had a meeting with Kurenai and since then he has been monitoring her and I guess Kurenai too. He took her on a date." I knew that things like dating probably didn't interest Shikamaru and that I shouldn't have told him, but he merely shrugged.

"Whatever. I beat him at games so far." Shikamaru and his strategy games. I remembered about two weeks ago he had been playing Shogi at my party. Wow, it felt like forever ago, but it was only two weeks. Time was flying.

"Oh really? Which games?"

"Shogi and Go. He keeps a Go board in his office. We played after class one night. He was supposed to be lecturing me about not having homework or something. His father is also a History professor."

I remembered in high school that a teacher had once remarked that Shikamaru should have been a professional Go player. Shikamaru had found there to be way more effort in it than he wanted with the travel and games and people. I had watched him play and knew it to be true though.

"Oh, I didn't know that. I don't know much about any of my teachers, except for I guess my English professor."

"That silver-haired guy that I see you with on the lawn in the afternoons?"

"Yeah, Professor Kakashi. I didn't know you saw us." I didn't realize I remembered to add the professor in front of his name.

"I've heard of him from talk around the staff room. We see you two every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon when Choji and I are leaving."

"Oh, I see. The lawn is a good place to hang out," I commented, changing the subject quickly.

"Choji and I go out there between classes some. You can see the clouds," he remarked. I knew that was one of his favorite pastimes, as it involved him doing nothing. He would spend lunch breaks in high school like that, either looking at the sky or napping, even continuing it through the summer. Why stop?

"Yeah it's nice out there. So where is Choji today?"

"He's going to come back and get me. He had an errand to run for his dad."

"How does he like school?"

"Better than me."

"I'm glad," I smiled. I chuckled a little, remembering all through school Choji had been teased to an extreme before he and Shikamaru became such good friends. Choji was a loyal and good guy though, if people could just get past his weight. I had hugged him many times and he wasn't fat, just big boned. "Good to hear at least one of you enjoys it." He shrugged slightly again. "Have you heard from anyone else?"

"I have P.E. with Rock Lee and some weird teacher named Might Guy. That class is a pain. Those are the only classes Rock Lee has. I have to listen to him quote Professor Guy all the time," he said. "I will probably drop the class at mid terms, it's a drag."

"If you don't fail," I commented. He merely shrugged again. "What about Temari? Does she stalk you at school?" I teased.

"Yes," he sighed. "She works nearby and somehow found my schedule."

"Why don't you try going out with her? Maybe she isn't as bad as you think." He sighed.

"Maybe. Though, she reminds me of my mom."

"Have you heard anything about Sasuke?" It had been two weeks since anyone had seen him at the party. I was curious to be sure that he was okay.

"No, sorry." A car horn outside stopped the conversation. "That's Choji. I'll see you later Sakura," he said, getting up from the couch like it was a huge effort.

"Alright Shikamaru. Thanks for coming by." I waved him off as he walked to Choji's waiting car. Choji waved to me from inside, a huge smile gracing his features. It was nice to see both of them, even if it was for a little while.

I wondered what talk Shikamaru had mentioned though. What kinds of things did they say about Kakashi? And if Shikamaru and Choji saw us on the lawn in the afternoons, then who else saw?

"Did you have a nice visit?" my mother asked as she walked back in the living room. I jumped slightly, her sudden appearance surprising me. Moms you know?

"Yeah, it was a nice visit," I answered, trying not to sound like I was on autopilot. My mind was whirling with all the possible things that could go wrong on Monday.

X

I had spent the rest of the weekend trying not to think of horrible things and losing sleep. By Monday morning, I was so dead. Third week of school and already I felt like a burnout. Not to mention that I would have some of my first tests coming up soon.

"Haruno! Sit up straight!" Professor Tsunade yelled. God, she had walked in the classroom in a foul mood. I wondered if I should walk out to avoid having a few words with her myself. I had a reputation as well for an extremely short temper.

"Wow, she never yells at you," Hiro leaned over and whispered to me.

"Tanaka!" she yelled next. Hiro straightened up.

"Sorry ma'am, and I must say that you're looking beautiful today."

"Shut up Tanaka! Flattery is not going to get you anywhere!" She put her hands on her hips as she walked back up to her desk. We were trying to finish the notes.

"Yes ma'am," he nodded, winking at me. Hiro wasn't really ugly when you looked at him. He had been one of the guys at the lab table to speak to me from the first week. He had wavy dark brown hair that was parted at the side and fell over one half of his black glasses which hid his hazel eyes. His face was kind of generic and average, fair and unblemished. He always dressed casual in a t-shirt and jeans, always smiling.

This was the kind of guy I should have been interested in. He was probably around twenty or so; a freshman like me. But I only had one guy on my mind, with crazy silver hair instead of wavy brown.

"Haruno!" she called again. "Answer the question!" I realized that I had been staring off into space, well the space where Hiro was sitting.

"Yes ma'am," I said, snapping to attention. The last thing I needed today was an angry Tsuande after me today.

After class, Hiro called goodbye to me as I headed outside for lunch. I couldn't help but notice that he seemed to be paying more attention to me. I brushed it off though as maybe he was just shy at first, not that he maybe had an interest in me.

Naruto was fuming about something when I reached the table he and Hinata were seated at. She was sitting as far from him as the bench would allow, eating quietly and looking like she was about to cry.

"What's going on?" I asked. I was worried that they might have been breaking up or something. I knew that a break up for Hinata would be a fate worse than death.

Neither of them spoke, but I could see a tear start rolling down Hinata's cheek. I asked again, this time my voice growing just a little firmer. Naruto looked off into another direction, his arms crossed and his jaw set in a hard line.

"Alright, just what the hell is going on?" I asked, my voice sounding just a little like a younger and angrier version of Professor Tsunade. Hinata whimpered as she looked at me, dropping her sandwich on the table to wring her hands together.

"M-m-my f-father," her voice shook as her nervous stutter returned. She had been doing so well with it.

"Your father?" I asked. He wanted nothing to do with her I thought, which is why she lived with Kurenai. He had disowned her as far as I knew.

"H-h-he w-w-w-w-w-" She started sobbing so hard that I couldn't understand her and she didn't try to finish the sentence.

Forgetting my anger with the two of them, I left my lunch and rushed around the table to comfort her. I could hear Naruto sigh as he turned back around. I knew he hated to see his girlfriend in so much pain.

"Her father wants her to move back home and break up with me," Naruto sighed as he wrapped his arms around her, a little under where I was hugging her.

"Oh no, that's terrible!" I said.

"I know. Kurenai doesn't know what to do either. We just found out yesterday. He called while I was over."

"Hinata, you're eighteen. You don't have to go and live with him," I said. "He already cut you off from home anyway." She nodded, but I could still tell that there was more wrong.

"But you see, her father is going to try and bring her back, he might even go to court."

"But I don't think he will win. She's legal age now. He doesn't have any power."

"It doesn't matter to him. She is the heiress to his billion dollar corporation remember?" I had forgotten.

No, I had not forgotten after all. I didn't know. As I sat there, hugging the crying girl, I realized I really didn't know much about Hinata's home life. She had never told me much about it, aside from living with Kurenai.

"Don't worry Hinata, we're going to make sure that you and Naruto stay together and that you keep living with Kurenai okay?" I said, squeezing her tighter. She nodded as her tears eased some. "Come on, let's go talk to Asuma okay?"

"That's a good idea," Naruto agreed. "Come on." We helped the shaking Hinata up as we grabbed our things and headed for his office. People merely stared curiously but did not humiliate her.

Asuma's door was open but when we looked in he wasn't there. Instead, Kurenai was sitting and speaking to an older man.

"Professor Sarutobi? Kurenai?" Naruto asked. I guessed that was his History professor. I felt so out of place again.

"Kurenai!" Hinata cried as she jumped into the woman's arms. I knew that she loved the woman as if she were her own mother. Kurenai hugged her close. This was just the first day of the third week, I told myself. How much more intense was this semester going to get?

"You don't have to stay," Naruto told me. I bowed and left as fast as I could without trying to look like it. Letting my feet wander, I found myself standing in front of Kakashi's office. After two sessions, I knew my way there by heart. I was a fast learner.

The note on his door said he would be back in five minutes. I knocked, just to be sure. He had told me to come and speak to him if something was bothering me. A whole lot of things were bothering me. There was no answer so I assumed he would be back as he specified.

I hadn't been standing there long when I heard two familiar voices, deep in argument.

"She's just a student Kakashi," I heard Professor Tsunade say in a voice that was just under yelling.

"So?" came Kakashi's lazy reply.

"My point is that some things are just better left at student-teacher relations."

"There is no law that says I can't be friends with a student of legal age," he told her. I could almost see the vein on her forehead popping out by now. "We are counselors and advisors after all." I could hear her huff. She probably had her hands on her hips. "I'm not harassing her, which is in the rules."

"I've got my eye on you Kakashi," she said. "She is my student too as well as my advising charge. But just know that me and some of the other staff members like Ibiki and Shizune disapprove completely," she told him darkly. I didn't know who either of them was.

"Fine then Tsunade," he answered in a bored tone. They both came around the corner and noticed me standing there.

"Um, hey?" I smiled weakly, clutching the strap of my book bag a little tighter.

"Good afternoon Sakura," Kakashi nodded his tone light. Tsunade didn't say anything at all to me as she brushed past us, headed towards her office. He pulled out some keys and unlocked the door, 

letting both of us in and shutting the door. "Alright, what's wrong?" he asked as he set down his orange book and leaned across the desk.

"What makes you think that anything is wrong?" I asked.

"Sakura, I'm an expert at reading people. Something is clearly bothering you, despite how much you try to hide it from me. Will you please tell me? I can't help you unless you talk," he said, raking a hand through his hair. Where to start?

I started with things that had bothered me all weekend, the fear that he was going to get in trouble. He smoothed over that he was not going to get in trouble as we were doing nothing against the law or the rules. Then I moved to what had happened just moments before, already feeling some of the weight lifted off me.

"Sakura, I will help in any way that I know how, though I know Asuma and even Iruka are better at things like that. The best advice I can give you, I'm sure you're already putting to use."

"What's that?"

"Just be your usual sweet self," he said.

"Oh," I blushed as I fumbled with the strap on my book bag. "I just can't believe so much is happening at the beginning of the semester."

"I know, this one has started far more exciting than my others," he agreed. He glanced at the clock on the wall. "Sakura, what do you say about me being early to class for once?" he asked, amusement tainting his voice.

"I don't know, are you going to be?" I teased as I too, looked at the clock.

"Yes, I think I shall. I have an extra hour to make sure I get there and a trusty assistant."

"Thank you Kakashi," I smiled, rather sultry for me. He laughed and raked his hand through his silver hair again.

"You know, I'm glad you're my assistant." I blushed and nodded again.

"May I ask you something?" I started timidly.

"Sure."

"How come you keep your face and eye covered?" There, I asked. It had been eating away at me for a little while, okay since day one. He chuckled again as he leaned back in his chair, folding his hands behind his head.

"Alright, let me ask you a question. Why is your hair that shade of pink?" I was a little taken back. This was not going to be easy.

"To be unique I guess," I replied, hoping I was somehow clever.

"Exactly then," he said.

"Exactly what?" I felt stupid all over again.

"To be unique," he laughed quietly. "Mostly."

"What do you mean by mostly, Kakashi?" I asked.

"That's a story for another time," he told me. His tone was quiet and sad. I nodded, understanding that he didn't want to share it with me right then. "If you don't mind of course, Sakura."

"No, I understand." I had overstepped my boundaries some. Though feeling sneaky I asked, "Would you ever show me your real face sometime?"

"You want to see it?" He sounded surprised.

"Yes, of course," I smiled.

"Hm, interesting," he said, chuckling. "I'll show it to you soon okay?"

"Fine, but I'm going to hold you to that."

"I'll let you." His one visible eye lingered on my face for a little while. I started feeling uncomfortable, but it wasn't a bad uncomfortable. The moment was rather tense and I cleared my throat some, out of habit. "How about we go ahead and walk to the classroom?" he asked.

"Okay, that would be fine," I said. We gathered our things and started out of his office.

"Hey Sakura," he started. His tone was serious and I grew worried.

"What?" I asked as we walked along.

"About Friday night." My heart was close to stopping as I waited for his next words. "I had a lot of fun. You're a good dancer you know. We'll have to do it as soon as possible," he told me, the amusement returning. I blushed to the roots of my cherry blossom colored hair. He put an arm around my shoulders to help direct me down the halls.

"Thank you," I told him, looking down in hope that he would not see my face.

"Sakura, I'm going to tell you something that not everyone in the student body knows yet. You see, in two weeks is homecoming. Our homecoming is rather lame because we don't have a sports team of any kind, unless you count Might Guy by himself." Kakashi shook his head fondly. "Hardly the point. The biggest thing about homecoming is the dance that is held."

"So, why are you telling me?" I asked.

He chuckled again as he answered: "So that hopefully when everyone else knows, you won't bring another guy with you."

"Oh I get it now," I blushed. "I'm sorry I didn't see that sooner."

"Don't worry about it," he shrugged. "So now you know."

"Thank you," I smiled. "Aching to dance with me again?"

"Of course," he told me. As we were walking out of the faculty suites, I passed a familiar swish of hair.

"Sakura?" the voice asked. Kakashi and I stopped in the hall.

"Neji?" I asked. He bowed slightly.

"What are you doing here?"

"They called me in of course. Can you tell me where a Professor Asuma Sarutobi's office is?"

"Yeah, just go down this hallway and turn left at the end and it is the first room on the new hallway. I hope everything goes alright."

"Thank you, I hope so too for my cousin's sake." He bowed again as he continued on his way. I didn't know Neji all that well either. I knew that his father died when he was younger and that he had never quite recovered. So, like Hinata, he had been placed in the care of a guardian.

He was nice but extremely guarded. But it wasn't hard to see he and Hinata were close. I was glad he was here this afternoon, to strengthen Hinata.

"Family resemblance," Kakashi nodded.

"Yeah. I hope he can help. I know I feel kind of helpless."

"Yeah, me too. I guess they won't be coming to class today. But since I know what's going on, then if you will tell them they can do it for homework then they won't lose a grade."

"I can do that."

"Excellent. Look, I'm sure everything will work out," he reassured me, squeezing my shoulder some. We were silent for a little while as we headed for the classroom. "Hey Sakura, how about tomorrow we go to the gym for a little while?"

"Alright. What for though?"

"Well, I think it might be a good way to blow off some steam. Of course, if you need to study tomorrow afternoon, then we can just go to the lawn."

"No, the gym is fine."

"Cool. Do you know anything about martial arts?" he asked.

"Aside from seeing Enter the Dragon a million times, no," I laughed.

"That's just fine. I'll teach you how to spar with me if you want."

"Sounds like fun."

"I'm sure you'll find it so. Plus, you might get to meet our gym teacher, well health professor, as well as my self-proclaimed rival, Might Guy." The name resonated in my mind and Shikamaru's conversation from Saturday came back. I simply nodded as Kakashi continued. "He's kind of a dork, but I guess we're friends. I sometimes have trouble telling with him, but you didn't hear that."

"Scout's honor," I told him, holding up my crossed fingers and sticking out my tongue. "Though I wasn't a scout, ever."

"I believe that," he joked.

The English class felt strange without Naruto or Hinata there to keep me company. I know that we didn't speak during that class, but I still felt strange without my friends to distract Kakashi's attention from me.

They showed up afterward to speak to him briefly and to let him tell them the homework assignment, rather than me. I stayed afterward to find out if he needed me for anything.

"Kakashi, do you need me this afternoon?"

"No, I'm about to go home today. My pets need some attention," he told me as he stuffed the essays in his bag. "You're free to go home and we'll hang out tomorrow, as promised."

"Alright, thank you Kakashi." I grinned and ran after Naruto and Hinata, to find out what happened. "Hey, wait up!" I yelled. They had stopped in the hall anyway, right after they realized Kakashi wasn't going to keep me.

"Not staying today?" Naruto asked.

"No, he didn't need me today," I shook my head.

"D-do you want a-a-a ride h-home?" Hinata asked. I could see that she had been crying.

"If Kurenai doesn't mind."

"S-she won't," Hinata said.

"Yeah, she is going to give me one," Naruto frowned. I guess he really wanted to stay. I realized that I only spent the night with Hinata maybe once.

"Okay," I nodded. "What happened? How did things go?"

"So far, the way it stands her father cannot do anything, just as we thought. He's just trying to scare us. Well, it's not going to work, I'm going to stop him," Naruto resolved. Maybe I should have paid more attention to Iruka at the time.

"Are you going to be okay Hinata?" I asked. "Is there anything I can do?"

"W-w-well, since Naruto c-can't spend t-the ni-night. C-c-can y-you?" Her stutter was worse than usual. I guess her father had shaken things up. She had been doing so well. "It w-w-would be n-nice to h-h-have a girl o-over."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I can spend the night," I smiled. My parents probably wouldn't even notice that I wasn't at home if they continued in their trend of late.

"T-thank y-you," she smiled as we walked out of the building. Kurenai was waiting for us by her silver Honda, of some design. I really don't have any interest in models, makes, and such so I never paid attention.

"Good afternoon Sakura, I guess you're coming with us?" She smiled weakly and I could tell that the afternoon had been a drain on them all, but it was a family matter and it just did not feel right for me to stick around while they were trying to figure things out.

"Yes, if that is okay," I bowed slightly, to demonstrate humbleness.

"That's fine, hop on in."

"Um," Hinata started, touching her index fingers together, "S-sakura is g-going to s-s-spend the night," she told Kurenai.

"How nice," Kurenai smiled at us. She was a beautiful woman, I noticed. She could have been a model, but instead she worked for a desk job, just like a normal person. "We will be glad to have you spend the night."

"Thank you," I bowed, showing respect. I always felt the need to do that for her. It was so strange. I mean, of course I did to other adults, but I always did for her, not matter how many times I saw her or as long as I had known her or as many times had she had told me to stop.

Hinata allowed me to sit up front, so that she and Naruto could spend time together before he had to be dropped off first. Then I allowed Hinata to have the front seat as I rode in the back to my house. I gathered my things for the night and the next morning as fast as I could so that Hinata and Kurenai wouldn't have to wait so long, stopping briefly to write my parents a note as to where I would be should they need me.

I was rather excited to be spending the night with someone other than Ino. It would take my mind off Kakashi and our budding relationship. I wouldn't be able to pleasure myself at her house, I thought. But damnit if he didn't try to consume my thoughts.

Hinata and I worked on our homework for a while. It was quiet of course, but nice. I found it easier to concentrate than it would have been at my house or with Ino, and I really needed to focus on school.

"Are you done Hinata?" I asked. She was sitting and writing in a different notebook from her school ones.

"Yeah," she said. "Are you?"

"Mhm," I stretched, putting my books away.

"Would you like to come outside with me while I work on some of my moves?"

Hinata had moves? Then it struck me as to just what the Hyuuga Corporation was. They owned Dojos all over the place as well had a line of videos and products for a style of martial arts called "Gentle Fist" or Juken style. I had even considered learning it.

"That would be fine with me." She blushed as we headed outside. The sun was still in the sky, but it wouldn't be there too much longer.

I sat in the cool grass as I watched Hinata warm up and begin to go through her moves. She appeared so calm and at ease, the usual blush gone from her cheeks. She was focused and talented. No wonder Naruto loved her. She was like a totally different person. Watching her reminded me of my sparring with Kakashi the next day. I was so totally unprepared.

"What did you think?" she asked. She was sweating heavily under the still summer air and had been forced to take off her usual jacket.

"Hinata, you're amazing! So graceful and confident!" I gushed.

"Thank you," she blushed. "I don't even know as much as the rest of the family. They never thought I would get better, even Neji," she confessed.

"Well don't believe them," I told her. "You know way more than I do."

"I could show you some," she offered.

"Really?"

"Yeah, it would be no problem," she blushed.

"You have no idea how much this will help me," I explained.

"How?"

"Well, Professor Kakashi invited me to come and learn how to spar with him." Now it was my turn to blush.

"You spend a lot of time with him," she commented as she helped me off the ground. She was stronger than she looked.

"Yeah, I know."

"But maybe you found someone Sakura," she said as she helped me into a position to teach me. "Maybe you found the one you're supposed to be with forever."

"But Hinata, he's our English professor!"

"I know, but love doesn't care about social standing. It just happens." She smiled as she started to teach me.

X

"So how did the training go?" Kurenai asked as she served us dinner. I noticed that she had changed after we got home. She had dressed up somewhat.

"Sakura has potential," Hinata told her.

"Well that's good. Sakura, you are a talented girl," Kurenai smiled at me. "If you really wanted to pursue it, then I'm sure you would be quite good."

"Thank you," I nodded.

"Are you going out?" Hinata asked her.

"Yeah, but I'll be back before too late. Asuma asked me out for a drink," she smiled as she finished putting in one of her earrings. We could hear someone knocking all the way across the house. "That will be him. I'll see you girls later. Don't stay up so late alright?" she smiled.

"Have fun," Hinata and I told her. She waved and headed for the door.

"Want to eat and watch TV at the same time?" Hinata asked me. "I'm feeling r-rebellious." This girl had already had sex before me and yet she thought that eating and watching TV was rebellious? It just proved that I didn't know Hinata as well as I liked to think I did.

"Alright," I smiled as we picked up our plates and headed into the living room. After some thorough investigation of channels, we settled for a night of chick flicks.

We went to bed around the same time I normally did. I was sleeping in Hinata's bed as she took a cot. We stayed up a little while talking about popular guys before Hinata drifted off. I felt awkward so I tried to fall asleep as well.

Before long, I could hear the front door slam, then Kurenai giggling as she walked down the hall. She was alone of course and slightly drunk. Her room was right next to Hinata's, so I could hear her every move, even when I wasn't trying to listen. She sounded happy though, I thought as I finally began to feel slumber take me. I vaguely wondered if I would ever be that happy.

X

"Alright good, good, just move like this now," Kakashi told me, his hands on my waist as he adjusted my legs.

No, this was not a dream. Kakashi really was holding my waist, in a basically public place and positioning me. Only, it was for sparring, not sex or dancing.

"Like this?" I moved into the next part he had shown me.

"Yes, you're a fast learner. Are you sure you don't know what you're doing?" He was amused, you could tell.

"Well, Hinata may have shown me some moves," I grinned.

"I see. Paid off well." His strong hands were molding me, teaching me. They felt wonderful and I found myself wondering more than once what else they were capable of and where else they would feel amazing.

I grew rather depressed when he let go of me. We had been at this for an hour so far. I was sweating right through the clothes I was wearing. I was glad that I had brought extra to change and even things to shower with.

"Well, are you ready?" he asked as he began to pull his shirt off. I had spent the last hour noticing his physique, but now he was just going to make me ogle and drool.

"I think so," I said, trying to keep my voice from wavering.

"Good then," he said, turning back to face me, tossing his shirt aside. I had to concentrate on keeping my eyes in my head. He was extremely well-built with just the right amount of muscle, like a ninja or something. "Let's go."

He came at me, but not at full force. I wasn't sure if I could have handled it or not. He was strong as I tried to defend his attacks with my meager fists and arms. But it was fun.

He got right in my face as his legs would try to kick me out and make me fall. But I fought back as much as I could, still mostly defending my body. He was laughing as he continued.

Of course, Kakashi won. It was only natural and expected. He feigned one attack and got me with another, grabbing one arm and twisting it behind my back as his other wrapped around my neck.

I could feel his toned body pressed against mine from behind, his heavy breath in my ear. He rested his head on my shoulder for a second, still holding me in the compromising position. I could feel a pleasant shiver make its way through my body.

"You did excellent," he complimented as he let me go. I did not realize how weak at the knees he made me for when he let go of my body, I felt myself falling forward. He grabbed my arm to steady me and I appreciated the gesture.

"Thank you," I told him.

"Here, rest a second," he said as he helped me down on the floor and handed me a bottle of water. He sat down beside me, stretching out his rather long legs. "You catch on quick."

"Thank you, I had great help," I smiled as I took a swig of the rather warming water. I splashed some on my face and neck too as I was burning up. He nodded, just studying me.

"So Hinata helped you yesterday?"

"Mhm."

"Well, you can tell her next time you see her that she did a good job."

"I will. I just wish I could have been as graceful as her." Yesterday I had felt so awkward with her; my body felt mostly unresponsive to me and then to her gentle guiding. Even under Kakashi's hands, I felt I wasn't adequate enough.

"You seemed pretty graceful to me for someone just starting out. Thank you for coming down here Sakura. I really appreciate it. I needed an outlet and practice anyway."

"No problem." I had not seen the one called Might Guy and was hoping that I wouldn't. Kakashi ran a hand through his silky sweating grey locks.

"Well I guess I will go get cleaned up, I'm sure I smell," I joked.

"Like a pig," he laughed, his one visible eye twinkling at me as he grabbed one of his towels from his nearby bag and wiped his face.

"Well if I smell like a pig, imagine how you must smell," I laughed as I grabbed my things and headed for the shower before he got any more ideas. I knew I would probably be sore tomorrow, but it was worth the alone time with Kakashi, with his guiding hands and lack of personal space.

He actually smelled quite nice again, like at the club and I wondered if he wore some type of cologne. Under the lukewarm water, I washed all the sweat away but also his scent and I wished I could have one without the other.

My hand wandered down my stomach to my wet mound. I absentmindedly twirled my fingers in the curly pink pubic hair before my fingers sought lower. I kept one hand on the tiles as the other began to stroke my soft folds.

Against my protests, my body began to respond to my own touches again, but only when I thought of him. I could feel that pleasant shiver down my spine and the flip flop of my stomach as I thought of doing other things with him.

My finger played around my entrance, before slipping in. But it wasn't my finger, it was his, well in my mind. So it was technically him that made me orgasm in the shower.

I was masturbating in a school shower, thinking about my teacher who was in the men's lockers. Oh yeah, I was in deep, very deep. But I couldn't stop myself. I should have, but I couldn't.

Feeling guilty, I began to hurry through my shower so that I could meet him afterwards less sweaty. I dressed in my clean clothing for math, which was around an hour away. Kakashi was waiting for me outside the women's locker rooms.

"There you are. Feeling better?"

"Yeah, much better," I nodded. As I stood before him, some of my hair fell into my eyes. He tucked it behind my ear. The ends of his hair were dripping wet from the shower. Several different scenarios flashed behind my open eyes and none of them were holy.

I grinned awkwardly as we started off for the main building. In one of the halls, we could hear a couple of excited voices. Kakashi paused to listen before he grabbed my hand and we started running.

I was confused as I tried to figure it out until I heard "Sakura!" from someone I hadn't heard since the night of my party. I also heard shouts of Kakashi until we exited the gymnasium toward the main building. About halfway there, Kakashi slowed down.

"What was that all about?" I asked, panting. Oh yeah, I was going to be sore tomorrow.

"That was Might Guy," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess I wasn't thinking things out just now," he laughed, shrugging. "I just know he wants to challenge me to something silly."

"Oh okay, well warn me next time," I smiled. We headed for the lawn and rested there until it was time for him to walk me to math class.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said as he waved and headed to his office.

"Tomorrow," I smiled as I entered the classroom, walking on cloud nine.

X

Author's End Note: Love it? Like it? Hate it? Mistakes? Let me know!


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Alright, back with chapter six. I hope I didn't let you guys down too much with the last chapter. I kind of feel like I did as I went back and re-read it and thought that it wasn't up to my usual standards. But thank you guys so much for the reviews I've recieved so far, as well as just clicking on it, or adding it to favorites and alerts. It really means the world to me as I update still thinking that it might suck and that I'm going about things completely wrong. I know I know, have more confidence Naturally Morbid, but it's just so hard sometimes.

Anyway, I have some things to mention about this chapter before you read and review. First thing, this is the longest chapter yet at 20 pages and over 8 thousand words. I'm about to faint as I have written most of it in one day when the ideas just kept flowing in. Second, I would like to share a few stories with you about this story and chapter. First story: I thought about something the other day, that my Biology professor when I was a freshman married one of his students, well he started dating her while she was his student, of course she was far older than Sakura, more like in her 30s? But still, dating your professor does happen in the real world. Second story: While I was sitting around at a small party I threw the other night, one of my friends told me a story that I just had to use in this. He was on a band trip and they stopped at a fancy dining place. Well, he got some type of drink and asked for it virgin of course, being a high schooler at the time, when the lady behind him ordered the same thing only with the alcohol of course. Well the drinks got mixed up and he had a rather nasty surprise. I just had to use it, so you'll see at the end.

So: This chapter covers the rest of the third week. I aplogize if anyone is out of character, if anything is wrong, or whatever. I tried really hard not to make it so. I again mention about the spelling of Guy's name, using the american version on purpose, just like last chapter. I hope this wasn't moving too fast, as really nothing has happened, even at the bottom of the chapter you'll see. I just thought that Kakashi should go home with her after an accident at the club, just to be sure that she doesn't die or something. You'll see. Again, no lemon in this, or even a relationship yet, alcohol was involved and makes up for everything right?

Um, I think that's about it. I hope I don't piss anyone off as I have really worked hard on this chapter and hope that it satisfies. If not, I will have to rewrite the whole thing until it's satisfactory again as I think I really messed up with the last chapter and hope this one makes up for it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters. I do own Hiro. The Beatles own the title of the story.

* * *

She's Leaving Home

Chapter 6

My mind refused to cooperate with me to study. I had a test in Tsunade's the next morning. I lay on my stomach on the couch, trying to wrap my mind around the notes in front of me. I should have used the time between classes to study instead of spar with Kakashi, but it was so worth the time spent even though my muscles would be hell in the morning.

Of course I had a million other things to think about. The dance, Kakashi, the notes, Kakashi, Hinata and her family problem, Kakashi…

I shook my head, deciding that I needed some coffee if I was going to pull a half-nighter to study for Tsunade's class. Her words with Kakashi echoed in my head and I felt that pang of fear again.

But then I remembered how wonderful his hands had felt on my waist as he guided me into one of the basic stances, the way that his hands shifted down to my thighs and legs, trying to get my stupid feet to move into a workable pose. I was like his doll. I liked the sound of it.

You can probably guess about how much studying was completed that night.

X

As I walked into Tsunade's class the next morning, I was so nervous. I felt like I was going to throw up as I took my seat. My clothing was fairly damp from the morning's showers. I had just made it in time, thanks to Kurenai coming to pick me up, since she didn't want anyone catching a cold.

"Hey," Hiro greeted me, with his friendly smile in place. "Are you ready for that test?"

"Not really," I responded as I set my things down and began to cross my fingers.

"I'm sure you'll do better than me," he said, just before Tsunade walked in. She appeared to be in a good mood, but the stack of papers under her arm was menacing.

"Okay students, today all you have to do is take your test and leave as soon as you're done. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that cheating will result in dire consequences and such." She scanned the room, narrowing her eyes before she smiled again. "Alright, good luck." She began to hand the papers out as fast as possible.

I looked down at the questions before me and gulped. I wasn't sure if I knew any of them or not, they looked familiar at least. I tapped my pencil a few times before I started to at least try them. This was going to be a long test.

X

I felt a huge weight on my chest lift as I started out of the classroom. Tsunade winked at me as I gave her my test. I just hoped that I somehow pulled it together and made a decent grade. I needed to pass her class with a high score for my major.

As I stood in the hall, trying to catch my breath, I realized the whole school was alive with chatter. I caught clips of passing conversations and realized they were about the homecoming dance.

I looked around and found there to be posters up about it. It would be in two Fridays, if you counted this Friday. So really, the week after next. It would be fun, I was sure.

"Ah, the homecoming dance," someone said behind me. I spun on my heel to find Jiraiya standing there with his arms crossed. "Are you going?"

"Yeah, I think so," I answered.

"Interesting," he smiled as he leered down at me. "With whom?"

"Uh-" I fumbled around for an answer. There seemed to be no one around to save me right then. "I'm not sure yet," I said. I didn't want to tell him it would probably be alone so that I could dance with Kakashi.

"Oh I see. Well you know, you owe me a dance," he smiled as he reached out and ruffled my hair in a rather fatherly or brotherly manner.

"Okay Jiraiya," I bowed slightly.

"See you tomorrow Miss Sakura," he said. You know, he was kind of handsome when you looked at him. I was left standing in the hall with nothing to do. I debated on going and waiting outside of the history room, but then I found myself wandering toward Kakashi's office.

"Sakura, you're here early," he said from behind his desk. He was actually grading papers for once. I was rather proud.

"Yeah I didn't know where else to go," I shrugged as I sat down.

"Are you sure?" he chuckled. "You came to me."

"Well besides you," I smiled.

"How did your test in Tsunade's class go?"

"Ugh, I don't know," I sighed as I leaned back in the chair. "I mean, I answered everything, but I don't know how much of it was right."

"Well, that's okay. I know for a fact that she grades more on effort anyway. So you probably got an A. Are you ready for my test?" We had a test in his class? When had that come up? Oh yeah, last Wednesday when I was paying more attention to his hair.

"Um, well…"

"You forgot didn't you?" he chuckled again.

"Honestly, yes, while I was preparing for her class. I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about. You have plenty of time to study. I'll be grading papers for a while anyway, though if you want to go and get some coffee to help."

"Yes, that would be a help."

"Alright, then let's go before either of us get too bogged down with work." He grabbed his keys off the edge of the desk as he motioned me after him. "I'll drive because I figure it is still raining." We walked through the staff suites to the back where the professors parked their cars.

It was still raining rather hard as we stood in the doorway. He told me to wait there and he would pull the car around to keep me from getting soaked. I watched him run off into the storm. He ran fairly fast.

As he pulled his small black car around, he leaned across the seat and opened the door saying: "Your chariot awaits my lady." I slid in the seat, buckling up as he headed out of the parking lot.

"Thank you for doing this," I said.

"It's no problem Sakura. We both need some coffee for the rest of the day. Don't worry about paying either alright?"

"Are you sure?" I asked. I glanced around his car. It was just what you would expect him to drive; small, sleek, plain, unnoticed. I liked it right away.

"Yes, I'm sure. You're my assistant after all and a friend too right?"

"Yes," I blushed.

"Then don't worry about it." We turned out on to the city streets. He was a really observant driver. I didn't feel worried at all with him. I was more just concerned with would anyone ridicule us. "Do you want the same thing from last time?"

I shook myself from my thoughts long enough to answer "yes," as he disappeared in the building. It was just drizzling now, but the skies were still dark grey. It was going to storm all day. This was the third week of school and already I was in his car. But I saw nothing wrong with it.

"Here you go," he said as he handed me the steaming cup. When had he returned? He was like a ninja. That's what he looked like.

"Thank you." I held it in my chilly hands. Fall was approaching. It was the first week in September after all.

"No problem Sakura. At least you enjoy coffee as much as I do." He set the cup down in the cup holder as we headed back to the school. He parked back in the space from before and I followed him back to his office.

Under the stark lighting of the hallway, I couldn't help but notice the beads of precipitation on his hair and clothing. They sparkled like diamonds against the black material and his grey hair. He didn't even seem to care that he would be soaking wet later on.

"Alright, time to study," I said as I situated myself cross-legged in the chair across from him, grabbing my notes and English book. "You better get to work too," I smiled playfully.

"Fine." I watched as he took a sip of coffee through his mask. Noticing my disbelief he chuckled again, for around the third time that day. "You don't want to pull that down?"

"And risk losing my mysterious façade so fast? No, through the mask is fine."

"Oh I knew you wouldn't let me see."

"Soon Sakura, soon. Just concentrate on studying. I would hate to have to fail you," he told me, picking up his red pen.

"I would hate for you to do that as well," I smiled.

"Then study," he said, pointing to my open book.

X

"Alright, as soon as you're finished with your test, you can leave," Kakashi explained as he passed out the papers. He didn't let me see them earlier in the office, but he did give me hints as to what to study for. He winked at me as he gave the stack of papers for my row.

I knew I would be able to pass his; partly because I had studied and the other because he winked. It would not be all that complicated. I figured I would just wait around until after class, to see if he needed me for anything and because it was still bad weather outside.

I looked down at the test, pencil in hand, and knew I had it. I filled in every answer I knew for sure, leaving the unsure ones blank, before I went back and filled in the ones I was rather unsure about, and the ones I didn't know, I just tried to answer. I ended up being one of the first ones done.

As I turned in my paper, Kakashi showed me a note saying to meet him in his office. I nodded as I left the room and headed there. I knew I had two more tests tomorrow. There would probably never be a test in Jiraiya's class.

I waited beside the door for class to be over, deciding to sit on the floor. I was exhausted from the day and ended up falling asleep against the wall outside.

"Sakura," a gentle voice said as a hand rubbed my shoulder. I blinked awake to find Kakashi kneeling down in front of me, his face just inches from mine, and the rest of him poised.

"Hm?" I asked.

"Would you like to just go home?" he asked.

"No, not if you need my help."

"I don't today. I'm about to head home myself. You're exhausted, you've got to be. Come on, I'll walk to you to the bus stop." He grabbed my hand and helped me to my feet. His arm was around my shoulder to steady my almost drunken feet.

I hadn't realized how tired I was. "Come on, time to go home and get some rest. I'm sure Hinata and Naruto are riding home with you."

"Are you sure you don't need me to do anything?" I was in that moment where you're still so tired and trying not to fall asleep. I leaned against his shoulder briefly before I realized what I was doing and stood up.

"No, not today. You need to go home and rest, then study for tests. Tomorrow we'll probably do something okay? It's a miserable day today and I don't want you to get sick."

"Thank you Kakashi," I smiled. He kept me close as we walked out. No one really questioned how we looked, by then most of the late afternoon classes had dismissed and students left.

"No problem," he told me. Was nothing a problem with him? He hadn't seemed to mind my head on his shoulder, so I tried it again. Kakashi said nothing but rather rubbed my shoulder as he got an umbrella ready.

"You're so sweet," I told him.

"I try." He moved his arm from around my shoulder, running it across my back, then down my other arm and catching my hand. "Let's go." He opened the umbrella above us and began to run into the storm with me. It was raining really hard again. He was holding my book bag so that I could keep up with his long strides.

"There you are Sakura," Naruto said as he held Hinata close. Lightning could be seen flashing across the sky. I grew a little nervous myself. "Professor Kakashi?" Naruto asked.

"Yo," he waved his hand a little, letting go of mine.

"What are you doing here?"

"I didn't want Sakura to miss the bus," he told them. "Or get wet." I noted that Naruto was missing his jacket, that was until I looked at Hinata and she was wearing it over her head.

"Thank you, again. I'm sure you're ready to get home, so you don't have to stay," I told him.

"Don't worry Sakura. I am going to make sure that you get on the bus safely." He put his hand back on my shoulder as we waited. "Do you guys think you passed my test?" He sounded amused.

"Hell yes I did!" Naruto told him, jumping up and getting close to his face.

"Well, I hope so," Kakashi nodded. "What about you Miss Hinata?" She blushed and turned her head from his direct attention.

"Um, I think so," she told him.

"I am sure you did Miss Hyuuga." She blushed and continued looking away from him.

"So really, what are you doing out here Professor Kakashi?" Naruto asked as he narrowed his eyes at our teacher. "I mean, you're not out here just to be with Sakura are you?" he pried.

I felt kind of insulted and that my looks were in question. Naruto made it sound as if I were a disease or a plague or something, that I was nothing special. I don't think he realized how it came out of his mouth, which would be typical of Naruto, but it hurt all the same.

"Of course I am here with Sakura," Kakashi answered smoothly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know, it's Sakura," Naruto poked. Before the terrible conversation could continue, the bus showed up. I breathed a sigh of relief. Hinata and Naruto entered before I did.

"Don't let him worry you," Kakashi said, his one eye twinkling again. "I'll see you tomorrow, as usual."

"Alright, Kakashi, tomorrow," I smiled.

As soon as I got home, I tried to study. I had two tests tomorrow. I couldn't afford to fail them; they were the first ones after all. But still, Naruto's words got to me while I was trying to concentrate on math problems.

Why should have guys be interested in just plain old Sakura Haruno? I never bothered to style my hair or wear makeup or dress in popular clothing at school.

I stood in front of the bathroom mirror and pondering things. I bit my lip and tried not to cry. I just didn't see the same girl that everyone else saw.

I still saw the middle school girl that was mostly unnoticed by all the good-looking guys, who came home and cried to her mother that she was an ugly pig girl, and that she would never fall in love. What my friends didn't know…I guess they all saw me as the confident Sakura, bold, and strong willed.

I touched my hair and face, examining myself so intimately that I could almost picture myself with a scalpel about to do a rather violent makeover. That was when I began to cry. My hands grabbed my trembling shoulders and my fingers dug into my soft flesh.

"Honey, are you alright?" my mother asked. Shit.

"Yes, just cramps," I lied as I sat against the door so that she wouldn't come in and look after me. The cramps were only part way true anyway.

"Do you need anything honey?"

"No," I answered, "thank you anyway." Really, I needed a makeover and a boyfriend. It was nearly three weeks into the first semester and Ino was already having better luck than me. I was sure that she and Genma were already having sex by now.

That was just the kind of girl Ino was, you had to understand. She had lost her virginity way before I had, to an older man. Sex was something casual to her. That was something else she had made clear when we had discussed masturbation.

She had confessed that she did it when she couldn't get a man to sleep with. No wonder she dated as much as she did. She also attended the wild high school parties that kids our age were expected to attend. She drank, she swore, she snuck out, but she was my best friend and I loved her for it. I could live through her experiences.

I finally pulled myself together and tried to study at least half the night. I had to do well, I just had to. My whole future depended on it.

X

"You look worried about something Miss Haruno," Professor Jiraiya pointed out as we waited for class to get there.

"I just have some tests," I said. "I'm kind of nervous."

"Ah, I see. You'll be fine," he smiled as he uncrossed his arms and moved around his desk to retrieve one of the orange books. "You don't have a test in here until next week at least, though I might put it off even longer. Does that help?"

"Yes Professor," I nodded, knowing that would probably piss him off.

"Don't call me that," he scoffed. "Makes me feel like an old man or something."

"But aren't you?"

"Aren't you one to talk about ages?"

"What do you mean?"

"I've seen you and Kakashi around," he said, crossing his arms. "So has the rest of the staff," he explained.

"Oh," I mumbled sheepishly.

"Not that I care, just the talk is getting rather ugly from those that oppose. Of course, they somehow neglect the student that Might Guy has taken on. I'm just telling you, to be careful alright, and don't listen to any of the negative stuff alright?" Jiraiya was being serious for once?

"Yes sir," I nodded.

"Don't call me sir! Makes me feel old!" he laughed. "Just Jiraiya will do." He reached out and ruffled my hair.

"Trying to lure my student away?" an all too familiar voice asked. We both turned to see Kakashi standing there, much like the second day against the doorjamb.

"No Kakashi, but you're aiming to get a bad reputation," Jiraiya retorted.

"I don't care," he replied with a wave of his hand as he headed into the classroom with us.

"I can only guess that you're gracing me with your presence as you need another book?" Jiraiya teased as he held the orange book out.

"Yes, you read my mind."

"Actually, I read your memo. Very nice handwriting by the way," Jiraiya commented as he looked at me. I had written it the other day for Kakashi.

"Well…I'm not going to lie, you should get yourself an assistant," Kakashi told him lightly.

"Maybe I should," he shrugged.

"I'll see you later, gotta go to class," he told us. "I'll meet you this afternoon at our normal spot Sakura." I nodded and kept my head down from all the blush. Kakashi had a way of making me do that so often.

"Teacher's pet," Jiraiya chuckled. I had to sit on my fist to keep from hitting him, like I did Naruto. Men sometimes.

X

"Thank you," I whispered to Professor Iruka as I turned in my test and walked out of the room. He nodded and smiled as well before I left. That test wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be either. Of course, everything feels easier when you study.

Today the sun was warming on my skin as I headed for our tree. Though it sucked the ground kind of squished under my feet. The ends of my jeans became wet as I trudged on. I'm sure Kakashi didn't realize how wet the ground would be.

Of course, enough time in the sun and warm air would dry most anything out. I stood under the tree, rather than test out the ground as I still had another class. This was the end of the third week and I couldn't be more excited. Things had been turned upsidown the whole time.

"You're early today," someone said. I turned and to my relief I found Kakashi.

"So are you," I laughed, giving his affinity for being late.

"Well, I thought I would try something new you know?" He closed the orange book he had been reading and stuffed it in his pocket. "So what are you just standing here for?"

"The ground is soaked," I told him, indicating my wet jeans. His eye traveled down my backside and to the ground.

"I see. Well then, I guess we'll just go up."

"Up?" I looked at the top of the tree.

"Yes, up. Come on." He grabbed the first branch and heaved himself up easily. He was so strong and I felt extremely intimidated and uncomfortable. "Hand me your bag."

"Alright." I passed the unusually light bag up to him as he set it beside him.

"Now, give me your hand."

"But Kakashi! You can't expect to lift me up there!"I cried in dismay. "You could hurt yourself!"

"Don't worry, just give me your hand. Trust me." He looked at me with that one dark eye, focusing on my two green. "Come on," he said softly, holding out a hand.

"Alright." I timidly gave him my hand and felt him tug as my feet found the truck. I nearly walked up with his arm sliding under my underarm and around my back, almost pulling me up. I sat on the rough bark beside him, with his arm still around me.

"There, that wasn't so hard was it?" he laughed.

"No, I'm sorry. I should have trusted you."

"It's perfectly natural Sakura. If I were in your shoes, I would have done the same thing." He moved his hand down to keep it around my waist. "Don't want you to fall," he told me. It wasn't such a great height, but it would still at least bruise.

"Thank you."

"So, think you know what you're doing for Asuma's class or do you need to study?"

"I think I know. I mean, there is only so much you can study," I giggled, yes giggled.

"Well it sounds like you have things under control. Iruka's class go alright?"

"Better than I expected. I'm just glad the week is about over. The whole thing has just been confusing," I sighed.

"I know what you mean. It seems like everything is moving fast for me and it must feel like warp speed to you."

"Indeed," I agreed. We were silent for a few minutes.

"So, have you heard from Ino?"

"No, but I never know when I will." He seemed to be planning something.

"Well, how about tomorrow night, regardless of whether you hear from her or not, how about I meet you at the bus stop at nine and we go in together?"

"Like a date?"

"Like a date," he nodded.

"Alright," I nodded.

"That way we can have more time to dance together alright? Because I left last week feeling like I just didn't see enough of you." I blushed a furious ruby color and averted my eyes.

"Wow Kakashi," I whispered. "I didn't know."

"Well, I've never met anyone quite like you," he confessed. He grabbed my chin and made me look at him. "So, everything is set?"

"Yes," I nodded, unable to look away from him.

"Great then. Now tomorrow, you have a lab right?"

"Yes, as always. I wonder what kind of torture she is going to want out of us now."

"That's Tsunade for you," he laughed. "Working students to the bone. I can only guess that she's thrown several fits in front of you guys by now?"

"Yes, several times she has come into class really pissed about something. I thought I was going to have words with her myself and walk out," I huffed. "She is a great teacher though."

"Yes, I will admit that," Kakashi laughed.

"But you are too," I said. "Actually, everyone I have this semester seems to be. The work isn't as bad as I thought."

"Because you're smart Sakura. Things are always easier when you're smart."

"I guess," I shrugged, trying not to blush so much.

"Just keep doing what you're doing Sakura," Kakashi told me, his eye twinkling. "You're going to be a great doctor someday, I can tell."

"Oh you're really too much," I smiled, hitting his shoulder lightly. "What are in the books you're always reading from Jiraiya?" Now it was Kakashi's turn to flush with color.

"Well…um…actually…nice weather we're having today isn't it?"

"Kakashi, that trick won't work on me," I grinned. My hand rested innocently on his thigh. I allowed my fingers to move down to his pocket and gently brush the soft pages. Kakashi let go of my waist to stop me, but I already had a firm grip.

I gave the book a swift yank as I held it up away from him. He laughed as he reached on either side of me to get it back.

"Hmmm Icha Icha Paradise hm?" I began to flip through pages, trying to piece together words. I couldn't help but notice the author's name. Jiraiya? He wrote this? Then why wasn't he an English professor instead of a History one?

As I flipped the pages at random, keeping out of Kakashi's reach, I gathered several theories as to why. This was similar to my mother's romance novels. I found a few words that made me blush. His arms wrapped around my waist and from sheer surprise, I nearly dropped the book to the damp ground.

"Are you going to give it back?" he chuckled.

"No, I thought I would keep your dirty book for a while. What do you get out of this anyway?"

"Hey, it's a good series," he scoffed as he tightened his grip.

"This isn't the same one that Jiraiya gave you this morning," I commented.

"I'm saving that one for later."

"Then you won't mind if I borrow this one," I sighed.

"It's nothing a lady should read," he told me. One of his hands was itching up further to my ribcage. I gulped as the hand was gentle. "Come on," he said seductively in my ear. "Give me the book back and I won't have to tickle you."

"I'm not ticklish," I lied. In fact, the places he was touching were the worst. The last time I went to the doctor and she had to perform a breast exam, I nearly laughed myself off the table.

"Oh really? Is that so?" He began to move his fingers lightly across my abdomen and sides as I shrieked like I was dying.

"Okay fine! I surrender! Here." I shoved the book into his hands, anything to make him stop.

"I knew you would see it my way." Just for a good measure, he tickled me again until I was nearly falling off the branch. He grabbed me swiftly around the waist as I fell backward. "So you bent the truth some huh?"

"Yes, I didn't want you to know that I was ticklish."

"Well your secret is safe with me."

"What about you Kakashi, are you ticklish?" I teased as I poked his side. He didn't even flinch, the muscles were so taunt.

"I am, but I can't tell you where," he chuckled.

"Aw, too bad," I shrugged. "Since I let you know where I was ticklish," I told him coyly.

"Not going to work on me," he joked. "I'm immune to those things."

"Are you?" I gave him my best sad face, being sure to sit right against him. That one dark eye studied me for a long time before its owner's mouth replied.

"Fine, I'll tell you, but only you. I'm ticklish on my feet."

"Your feet?" I smiled.

"Don't get any ideas," he said. I pouted. "So now we're even."

"Alright, I wasn't going to do anything anyway. At least right now," I grinned.

"Why does that sound so bad?" he asked, running a hand through his hair. "I'm afraid I have given you some kind of idea."

"No, no ideas yet," I grinned.

"Oh boy, that doesn't sound good at all. Maybe I should tickle you again?" he asked, raising his one visible eyebrow.

"No, that won't be necessary," I laughed. "Maybe I should review some for math."

"It wouldn't hurt," Kakashi said as he handed my math book over. I overlooked the fact that he had dug around in my bag.

"Fine," I rolled my eyes in a mock gesture. I suppressed the feelings of outright guilt about flirting so shamelessly with my professor and just enjoyed the afternoon of his usual company. I knew 

the coming weeks would be extremely busy and it would be best to enjoy small things now while I still could.

Before it was time for math, Kakashi helped me from the tree, holding my waist as he lifted me down. I gripped his shoulders as I was sure one of us was going to get hurt.

"There, all safe and sound," he said as he brushed some of my hair out of my eyes. His hand was warm and soft on my face; I wanted it to linger, like before.

"Thank you," I told him, feeling my skin flush.

"Come on then, time to get you to Math so you can pass Asuma's first test and enjoy yourself tomorrow night."

"Alright." He grabbed my backpack from the branch, carrying it as we headed in the building under the late afternoon sun, like so many times before, even wishing me good luck before he left for his office.

"There you are," Naruto said. "Class is just about to start," he hissed as I walked by him.

"I know, and I'm ready."

X

I didn't hear anything from Ino Thursday night as I ate dinner and relaxed for the day. I felt so drained, but I was happy as I lay on the couch with the tv on and me not even paying attention.

Kakashi had touched me again today. We were getting really close. I allowed my hand to wander over my body. I wasn't worried about anyone walking in though, as my parents were out of town starting tonight. I found their note.

I was used to things like this.

That meant that tomorrow night I would able to go out and not have to worry so much about my curfew. I liked that.

My hand wandered under my clothing, like the other times. You should know what came next of course….

X

"Good work Hiro and Sakura," Tsunade complimented as we got our lab work checked off. "You two are really demonstrating excellent work ethic," she smiled. She looked like she had either gotten some or taken happy pills.

"Thank you," we stated at the same time.

"Well, you're dismissed for the day. Enjoy your weekend!" I heard something shatter behind us. Hiro and I hurried from the room as fast as we could but it still didn't save us from the wrath of Tsunade. We could hear shouts of obscenities in regards to the student and project all the way down the hall.

Hiro and I looked at each other and began laughing. At least we had finished early.

"I think we finished in record time today," Hiro said.

"I'm glad we did or else we would have to put up with her wrath." He laughed and smiled as he leaned against the wall. Something made a crinkling noise behind him and he spun around rather fast.

"Oh, the homecoming dance," he said. "Are you going?"

"Probably. Are you?" I was just trying to be polite.

"Well, I don't know. You see, there's this girl I want to ask but I don't know how to go about it."

"Oh, well if that's the case, you should just suck it up and ask. The worst thing you can get is 'no' as an answer and there are other girls in the sea," I smiled.

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks Sakura."

"No problem Hiro. See you Monday then."

"Alright, Monday then." He had the same look on his face as he did the week before but he smiled anyway and moved on down the hall. What a strange sort of guy he was.

I hurried to Kakashi's office, to see if he needed me for anything while I was at school today. I had felt that I was sort of shirking my responsibilities. But at least the week would be over and I had minimal homework to do, though I had projects I should have been starting on.

"Kakashi?" I asked, knocking on his door. I didn't want to disturb him if he was busy or something.

"Come on in," he said, opening the door. I saw Jiraiya sitting at his desk with a satisfied smirk.

"So this is where you hang out every Friday morning," he said.

"Now now," Kakashi smoothed over. "She is my assistant after all. Sakura, I have a few errands for you to run, just notes again," he said with a wink. I guessed in the meantime he was going to get rid of Jiraiya.

"Alright." I set my things down as he handed me a few memos, written in his own scratchy writing for other teachers.

"I am really sorry about the last one. I'll make it up to you alright?" I nodded before I even looked at it.

"I'll be back soon." The first note for was Tsunade. She wasn't there, but I left it in her inbox. The next note was for Ibiki. I had heard Tsunade mention that name. Without meaning to, I began to read the note. Just after the first week of knowing him, I could decipher his work.

The only thing I could gather was that he was looking for a book or something. I had been scared it had been about us directly. The next note was for Might Guy. At that moment, I could have injured Professor Hatake.

Not only did I have to walk all the way out to health building, but I had to give him the note face to face. He was sitting in his office. Kakashi was going to owe me big time for this.

"Um Professor Guy?" I asked as I opened the door slightly.

"You must be Kakashi's assistant!" he smiled as he grabbed me in a big hug. He had just been sitting behind his desk, god did he move fast.

"Miss Sakura," I heard Rock say as he too, grabbed me in a big hug. Oh god, I was surrounded by a terrible color of spandex and bad haircuts. Yeah, Kakashi was going to owe me big time. Though, I had to hand it to Rock, he was always polite when he spoke to me.

"I was just here to drop off a note," I told them, hoping they would let go.

"Such youthfulness," Might said. He looked like he was close to sobbing. "She is everything you told me about," he mentioned to Rock. I looked between them once they let go; Rock looked just like his Professor. As I remembered, his hair had been longer and styled another way and he didn't ever wear spandex anything. Just three weeks had passed? Or I was going insane?

"Rock?" I asked as I looked at him.

"Yes Miss Sakura," he nodded. Oh god was I confused. "I have embraced Professor Guy's teachings," he told me. Seriously?

"Oh, well how nice to see you Rock." I remembered that in high school he had crushed on me forever. I had to wonder if he still did. "I wish I could stay but um…I'm off to enjoy youth," I told them, as I pressed the note into Guy's hand and all but took off. I didn't dare look back as I took off running through the halls of the physical education building back toward the staff offices.

"Sakura, back already?" Kakashi asked as he scratched the back of his neck. I glared at him as I took the empty seat across from his desk. Jiraiya was gone of course. "Now don't tell me you're mad at me, but you know they needed that note." I really wasn't mad at him after I stepped in the office. I just wanted to have some fun with him first. "Sakura, come on, you're not mad at me really?"

"Well…you have a lot of making up to do," I smiled.

"So you're not mad?"

"No, not right now. I was at first though."

"How did you get away so fast?"

"Ninja skills," I smiled, pressing my index finger to my lips.

"Ah I see. Well, all I have for us to do is get these papers organized for class next week." As we worked, I realized how tired Kakashi looked. His one visible eye was rather bloodshot and puffy, like he had stayed up several nights in a row or something.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." We continued organizing papers, but I wondered what he had lost sleep over.

X

This week was different than last week, I was going out alone tonight. I clutched my purse a little tighter as I boarded the bus. I had been sure to wear an outfit similar to the week before.

I admitted to myself that I was nervous about meeting with Kakashi alone. I was scared, but it was a normal fear. Partway through the bus ride, my phone buzzed. It was Ino texting that she and Genma would be at the club. I felt a little better; I wouldn't be so alone.

I let my head rest against the cool glass, waiting for the ride to be over to settle my nerves. It was already dark outside once the bus pulled up to the stop. My heart was beating faster than usual as I walked off the bus.

Under the streetlamp, I could see a flash of familiar grey hair and my breathing calmed down some. Kakashi was waiting for me, just like he said.

"Yo," he said, waving his hand some as he helped me off the bus. He linked his arm in mine.

"Hey Kakashi," I smiled. I couldn't believe this; I was actually being escorted. But not just escorted by anyone; Kakashi Hatake himself.

"You look nice tonight," he commented.

"So do you." The lights accentuated his visible features. He looked even more mysterious than usual. He was dressed in a black button-down shirt, with the buttons at the top undone some, and tight but fading jeans.

"I'm hardly worth mentioning. Did you ever hear from Ino?" he asked.

"Yeah, she and Genma are here."

"Well I hope they're ready for a lot of dancing."

"I can't wait," I smiled. We went through the usual process of identification and then entered the club. I could see Ino and Genma at the bar. They waved us over, Ino grabbing me in one of her usual huge hugs.

"Hey Sakura!" she yelled over the din of the music. "Let's go find a table. The guys can get us drinks alright?"

"Alright," I screamed back, breaking away to tell Kakashi what we were going to do. He nodded and waved over a bartender.

"So who is that?" Ino yelled. We were at a table in the back and it still didn't help with the noise level.

"Well actually, he's my English professor, Kakashi."

"Oh I see. Got a professor as well huh?" she winked.

"Um yeah I guess." I wasn't actually lying. But we weren't exactly going out.

"Here you are girls," Genma said as he and Kakashi walked over with our drinks. Since I was a noob with no alcoholic experience, I couldn't tell you what everyone was drinking. Kakashi had brought me something called a Shirley Temple, virgin so we thought. His beer was a lovely amber, kind of purple color under the lighting.

It was rather good, although it had a strange taste to it. I had drunk probably more than half of it before I realized that it probably had alcohol in it. Because it was sweet, sure, but there was a bite to it as well. I felt rather warm.

"Are you ready to dance?" Kakashi asked in my ear. I nodded, taking another sip of the drink. The lights swirled in my eyes and I felt kind of dizzy as he steadied me and led me through the floor. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think so," I told him. He eyed me carefully. Did he know about the drink? If he didn't, he was going to figure it out soon. He held me close to the front of him, my waist in his fingers.

I placed my hands on his shoulders as a fast paced techno song started up. He pulled me a little closer, bringing our hips to meet as ground his pelvis into mine, staring down at the space between us.

From the way his pelvis ground into mine, I could tell that he knew what to do with that particular region of his body.

His hands began to roam all over my back and ass, like the other couples on the floor. I thought at first he was trying to feel me up, but then I realized that he was marking me as his from the other guys on the floor again.

Other men and women bumped and ground into and around us, but Kakashi held me close as he made me focus on only him and his movements.

I tried to keep my hands going like his, even digging my fingers into his back as I threw back my head in pleasure. I gripped his arms tightly and I thought I heard him make some kind of noise.

His body was melting against mine and I could feel the liquid heat between my legs starting again as he continued to dance against me. I turned around so that I could let him grind into my ass. He wrapped his arms around my waist as I sighed and leaned against him.

We were both sweaty and had completely lost track of sense and time. It was like we were the only two on the floor. I put an arm around his neck, tangling my fingers in his hair.

It was still so soft, just like before. He was so beautiful under the lights. I couldn't help but turn some to look at him. His hair reflected the bright lights of the club, his one visible eye was shut in what I hoped was pleasure.

As I moved against him, even sinking down some and then coming back up, I heard a slight moan. His head rested on my shoulder as he just held me. I turned back around to face him, so that I could rest my head on his shoulder as he protected me.

"Sakura, are you feeling alright? Maybe we should rest?"

"That might be best." I felt light headed and kind of woozy once we stopped dancing and started walking. I had to clutch to Kakashi to keep from falling.

"Is something wrong?" Genma asked as he looked at me hanging all over Kakashi. He and Ino had been making out until we walked up.

"Can you check her drink?" Kakashi asked as he pointed to the glass. I still felt extremely warm as Kakashi helped me sit down. I fell against him once he sat down again. I started giggling, even though nothing was funny.

"Hey Kakashi, you did ask for virgin right?" Genma asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"That had alcohol in it." Now they figured it out.

"Oh shit," Kakashi said, raking a hand through his grey hair.

"Don't worry, I don't think there was enough to actually hurt her. Ino drinks way more than that."

"But that's Ino. Sakura has never had a drink in her life." Ino started laughing.

"It's true," she giggled. I giggled too.

"Shit, but I should have tasted the drink to be sure before I gave it to her. A woman asked for the same thing before I did and I guess they got them confused. Oh shit, this is bad, Genma go and get a bottle of water. That will help the hangover in the morning. Oh god."

"Kakashi, don't sweat it, I'm fine," I told him and then giggled. I was feeling high from the alcohol and the dance.

"No Sakura, I shouldn't have let this happen," he said, raking his hand through his hair again. "As soon as we get some water in you we'll have to figure out what to next." He was sexy when he was worried. "Ino, can she have some of your food?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah sure, to help sober her up." There were some fries or something in front of Ino. Kakashi pulled them over to us and started trying to get me to eat them. I wasn't as drunk as he thought, as I didn't drink all of the alcohol set before me, but I was pretty buzzed.

"Come on Sakura, eat up." A few minutes later Genma returned with the water and Kakashi made me drink that as well. "There you go, good girl," he encouraged. "I think we better go, it's nearly time for us to leave anyway. It was nice seeing you two again and we'll do this soon."

"Bye Ino," I giggled. They shared goodbyes with us as Kakashi helped out of the club. I didn't feel nearly as dizzy or strange but I did lean against him more than I would have if I had been completely sober.

"Sakura, I am truly sorry that happened. I meant to get a virgin one of those as a treat because I thought you would like the taste. I guess that backfired on me."

"It's okay Kakashi. I only feel a little strange."

"Well, because it is still my fault, I'm going to make sure you get home alright. I don't want something to happen to you. God, your parents are probably going to kill me."

"No they won't, they're not even home," I told him bluntly.

"Well that takes some of the weight off." He held me close as the bus came and much to my surprise, boarded with m.

"What are you doing?" I asked, my brain feeling tired and hazy.

"I'm making sure you get home alright and nothing happens to you in the middle of the night. I'm going home with you." Well you didn't expect him to drive after a beer did you? I nodded as I slumped against him. I know I passed out against him for a little while, because the next thing I knew, he was carrying me bridal style off the bus.

"Kakashi, can you put me down?" I had sobered up a lot on the ride home. I guess he had too.

"Sure."

"Are you sure you want to spend the night?" I asked. Of course, that would be fast, but I was kind of intoxicated and probably shouldn't be left alone. I would be home alone and I could hurt myself. It wasn't like we were dating or anything. Having a teacher there would be better than no one at all.

"Yes, I'm sure. Nothing will happen, I just need to be here in case something goes wrong. I promise."

"Alright." I led him the short walk to my home from the bus stop. I fumbled around for my house key, unlocked the house and let us in.

"Drink a little more water. Would it be alright if you slept on your couch so I could keep up with you from a chair?" I nodded. I didn't feel so hot after all. "Alright, good girl." He sat down in the recliner as I headed to the kitchen and got two glasses of water. We drank them in silence before I curled up on the couch and fell asleep, praying I wouldn't be hell in the morning.

X

Author's End Note: Love it? Hate it? Like it? Mistakes? Anything? Let me know.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: **Wow, I really wanted to have this chapter this weekend, but this past week was my first week of summer semester. So, that might mean bad news for you guys as far as fast updates and such go. I will try as hard as I can, but they just might take a little longer.

Anyway, how is everyone? Enjoying summer I hope! I know I enjoyed the month break I had and even now its kind of nice for summer to be here. So, hope you guys are doing good, writing lots, reading lots, staying out of the heat or swimming or something like watching those Naruto episodes and maybe even picking up a movie, like Bleach?

About this chapter, I used some of your suggestions from reviews, at least in this one. I don't think things are moving to fast in this chapter as nothing quite like the club happens and all of that. I really want to build this up and so I hope I did with this chapter. I hope it is as cute as the last one seemed to be. I made use of the dogs and also the weapons and everything as I thought it would be kind of fitting for our characters to have an interest in something.

So, hope you guys enjoy. As a side note, I've added another story to the Naruto section. It is actually a bit different from this one, but if you're feeling brave then feel free to hop over and check it out. It won't be updated probably as fast or anything. My usual notes, feel free to email me just to chat or something, livejournal, deviantart.

Thank you so much for your kind reviews! I really appreciate them you guys! You are all so nice and sweet and I just love hearing from you and thank you so much! I know I keep replying back and I hope you guys don't mind as I feel it is very very polite to thank each and every one of you. I always worry with every chapter that goes up here if I am still doing the right thing.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters of Naruto, only Hiro. The Beatles own the title of the story. This is M rated for a reason.

* * *

She's Leaving Home

Chapter 7

The first things I remember thinking about that morning was why the hell my head hurt so much and why did my stomach feel like it was resting in my throat. I was awake but I didn't open my eyes.

"This is the Haruno residence. We're not home right now or else someone would be answering the phone instead of making you listen to this dumb message. Leave a message at the tone," I heard my father's friendly voice. My mother hated that message, which gave her incentive to pick up the phone rather than let someone hear it. I wondered who would be calling and why my mother wasn't picking up the phone.

"I should make you change that message, anyway. Sakura, change of plans, we'll be home in around thirty minutes? Hope you're not sleeping in on such a beautiful day, which is hopefully why you're not answering the phone is you're out, but you're probably listening right now. Anyway, see you soon honey!" my mother's voice came through the answering machine. Wow, they knew me all too well. They had lived with me for eighteen years after all.

"Ugh, mom," I groaned.

"She sounds nice." My heart skipped a beat. My eyes flew open, only to be greeted with a large amount of bright sunshine. I rolled over on my side, thinking I was in my bed. Of course, that was wrong with my hangover and I rolled right off the couch, landing with a cry of surprise on the floor.

I looked up to see Kakashi standing in my living room, holding a cup of coffee and looking extremely cheerful. I, on the other hand, felt like I was going to throw up and wanted to die.

"How can you be so happy?" I demanded, pressing a palm to my forehead as I sat up.

"Because I know how to handle my alcohol," he laughed, as he bent down to help me up from the floor. I felt unsteady and queasy, but I didn't want to throw up in front of him. "Come on, there you go," he encouraged as he rubbed my back.

"What happened last night?"

"I'm afraid I made a mistake with your drink and didn't catch it in time."

"I remember that, but what are you doing in my house?" The bus ride wasn't coming back to me so easily.

"I was afraid to leave you alone after your first drink of alcohol so I spent the night. I hope you don't mind me making coffee for you," he smiled.

"No, that's fine. Now I just have to figure out what to do about my parents." Shit. My parents. They were going to be coming home while I was having my hangover and my very sexy English professor was standing in the living room.

"We'll figure out something in a minute. Right now you're probably in desperate need of pain killers." He directed me toward my own kitchen and the whole house suddenly felt different. I wasn't sure how to explain it, but I had never looked at my house in the light it was now. "Feel like you're going to be sick?" he asked as he rummaged through cabinets, looking for pain killers.

"First cabinet on the left above the stove and not really now that I'm sitting up." He grabbed the bottle and found another glass of water. I couldn't stop myself from thinking how natural he looked in my kitchen, the late morning, early afternoon sun coming in through the spotless windows on him. He looked right at home.

"Here," he told me as he handed the pills over, our fingers just brushing. "Take these and the water and you should be fine."

"Alright Doctor Kakashi," I smiled weakly. The sun was killing me at the moment. Yeah, I was never going to drink alcohol, even when I was legal age.

"Sakura, I'm truly sorry about the drink last night. If I had known, I should have tasted it, really-"

"Kakashi, it's okay. I'm okay. Besides, it's a life experience." I swallowed the pills together with a big mouthful of water and prayed they would not get stuck as I would just be mortified, not to mention choking.

"Are you sure?" he asked. It was just one of the many times he would ask me that over the course of the semester; I just didn't know it then.

"I'm sure," I told him. "Now we just have to figure out what to do about my parents."

"How would they handle the truth?"

"Ha!" I laughed. "I'll just tell them I'm sick today."

"That was my next suggestion," he chuckled. "See, you've got it figured out. Well, if you're awake and not sick, then I probably need to be heading home. I'm sure my dogs are probably wondering if I'm dead or something." I didn't want him to leave of course. I didn't want to be away from him.

"You could stay if you want to though," I offered. I would find some way to lie to my parents.

"I will have to take you up on that another time, if you don't mind, though thank you for the offer. You know, if you would like, you could come with me, for an assistant job."

"Really? What would it be?" I had all sorts of ideas and some of them were not so good.

"Well, my dogs need baths today," he shrugged. "It would be nice to have company. Plus your mom did say to get out of house."

"That's true. Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt. I'll just leave them some kind of note." I tried to block out my headache. "And change of course."

"Alright, that's fine. You have a little less than thirty minutes. I'll wait."

"Thank you." I stood up slowly to avoid feeling too sick as I headed for my room. "Just make yourself at home," I shouted. He didn't reply, but I figured he would regardless of whether I said it was okay or not.

I kept my door shut as I began to strip off my clothing and change into some older clothes. From helping Kiba and his family wash dogs, I knew that it could get messy. I also made sure I wasn't wearing white, just to stay decent.

I scribbled a quick note to my parents about going to do some school work in the city, which wasn't a lie at all. I was going for something semi school related. After I grabbed my back pack, I headed back to the living room. We still had around ten minutes.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked. He was standing in front of one wall, looking at the pictures there. I felt blush crawl up my body as they were baby pictures and so on.

"Yeah, let's leave the back way though, so they won't catch us just in case." I locked the front door and he followed me out the back. Our backyard was fairly small compared to the others in the neighborhood, blending into our neighbors and their pristine gardens and swing sets. The grass was green of course, but not as bright as it had been in the spring.

"Your neighborhood is quiet," he said as we snuck around the side of the house, crossing through a yard on our way to the bus stop. "Kind of how I pictured it."

"I figured as much." We walked across two more yards before we reached the end of the block and hurried to the bus station. I figured my parents wouldn't bother to look. My mother would be happy as long as I was out of the house.

Kakashi and I reached the bus stop in silence with no sign of my parents. I checked the time. Yeah, they would be home by now. The note was right on the front door. They wouldn't bother questioning me. My head was still sort of throbbing and direct sunlight made it worse. I moved to stand in Kakashi's shadow.

"So how many dogs do you have?" I asked. I pictured him living in an apartment with one or two really small ones, like pugs or something.

"Around eight? If I wasn't so good with my rent I'm sure my landlady would have kicked me out by now." Eight dogs?

"Eight dogs?" I repeated.

"Yeah. Don't tell me you're not a dog person," he chuckled.

"Oh no, I like dogs. One of my friends and his family raise dogs. I've helped him out before."

"Alright then, we'll see how good you are," he nudged my side.

"You're really going to let me find out where you live then?"

"I don't see how it would hurt me."

"What if I am one of those stalker fan girls," I smiled, my lips curving wickedly, "and I start trying to steal your underwear and tissues or something."

"That's a chance I'm willing to take for help with the dogs. Besides, you don't fit the profile." He ruffled my hair, letting his large hand rest on my head. "I'm sure I have nothing to worry about."

"That remains to be seen," I laughed before a short silence grew between us. "Do you live far from the school?"

"Not really. We'll just take another short bus ride since I don't have my car right now. Hope you don't mind."

"Of course not." He nodded as the bus began to pull up. We boarded, taking seats near the back.

"So you're going to let me see your apartment but not your face?" I teased.

"Pretty much. Don't worry, you'll see it sometime," he winked.

It was so strange to be heading to the city on a Saturday for something other than school. In a matter of minutes I would be seeing Kakashi's apartment for the first of many times.

"The town is still really nice," he told me. "I will have to come back and take a better look around sometime."

"Yes, you will and I could show you all of my favorite places. Just let me know anytime you want to make the offer."

"I'll be sure to do that. I used to not live so far away from where you live now. My one of my closest friends lived beside me." Kakashi's voice grew distant. "We had good times," he said, continuing. "I miss those days sometimes." You got the idea that something horrible had happened to his friend but he wasn't elaborating and I didn't feel it was my place to pry.

"Oh, I see," I told him feeling a little awkward. When I was sitting beside him on the old and musty seat, I noticed how tired he seemed again.

"But that is a story for another day. Did any of your friends ever live next to you Sakura?" His voice was back to its usual cheer.

"Well Naruto used to before his guardian got a better job, but that's about it. I hardly even remember it. But most of my friends still live close."

"That's handy. You've lived in the same house your whole life?"

"Sadly," I smiled. "I know probably the history of the neighborhood to a certain point. It makes me boring I know."

"Not at all. It's sweet that you have lived in the same home. It gives you a security that some people don't have."

"I've never thought about it that way, thanks Kakashi."

"Anytime."

"Are you still friends with anyone from when you were a kid?" He paused and acted rather strange. I suddenly wished I hadn't asked him that. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have aske-"

"No it's alright. Actually no, but it's a long story. One, which we probably don't have enough visit for, as this is our stop." Time had really flown then. I followed him off to my usual stop in front of the school.

"So now where to?" This bus only ran between this stop and the school I thought.

"Follow me," he said, taking my hand so as not to lose me in the Saturday crowds. We headed past the school in the direction of the Starbucks, his hand tightly gripping mine. There was another bus stop just beyond it that we stopped at. "Just a stop or two after here and then a short walk. I would take the bus but you can never be of times."

"But time never seems to matter to you Kakashi," I teased. "You're always late to class."

"I know. It's not really my fault though. Time just won't slow time for me."

"Oh what am I going to do with you?" I sighed, playfully nudging him. He nudged me back and pretty soon we were bumping elbows before I called it off.

"Well you are going to wash dogs with me," he shrugged. "That's doing something with me."

"Good point Kakashi," I smiled. The bus showed up moments afterward and we took a seat near the front. Just as Kakashi said, we passed two stops before he stood up and took me with him.

"This is it," he said as we hurried off. I could feel my heart beating a lot faster in my chest as butterflies began their nervous dance. "Not too much farther," he said as he glanced down at me. I 

nodded, fearing the things that would spill from my mouth if I dared speak. I memorized every careful detail of how to get to his apartment complex.

He lived in a rather nice part of the city, not at all what I was thinking at all. The apartment building looked like some kind of old office building that had been renovated. He led me inside and I found that the place looked a lot like a hotel or something with a pristine lobby and attendants.

"You live here?" I asked in wonder as I tried to take everything in at once.

"Yeah, I don't think I do all that bad," he chuckled as we headed for the elevator. Sure the outside had been rather drab, but the inside was amazing with its molded architecture and top rate supplies of marble and wood.

"Kakashi, this place just blows my mind." I wasn't even sure I had stayed in a hotel on trips as nice as that place was.

"Yeah, that's what I thought too when I first moved in. Though I hope my apartment doesn't disappoint you."

"I don't think it will." The elevator doors closed after us softly as he pressed the button for floor three. There was some kind of soft classical music playing in the background as we stood in silence. Even the elevator had the nice brass hardware and expensive looking flooring with dark wood coloring the walls.

As gravity tried to hold my stomach down while the elevator pulled us up, the butterflies took advantage of my tumbling stomach and tried to escape. I quickly pressed a hand to my mouth, hoping the action was polite enough that Kakashi wouldn't notice.

"Feeling alright Sakura?" he asked. I nodded. "I guess maybe we should have taken the stairs with your stomach from last night." He placed an arm around my shoulders to steady me when the ride came to an end. "We're almost there if you need to relieve yourself," he said. I shook my head as we started off the elevator.

"That won't be necessary, I'm fine."

"Okay, as long as you're sure." He let go of me as we walked a little down the hall, coming to stop in front of door three hundred and six. He dug around in his pocket and I heard the jingle of keys before he found a gold one, placing it in the lock. The door opened with a soft creak as he held it open and allowed me to pass by him. "This is my apartment." He flipped on the nearest light and before I knew it, I was laying on the floor with my facing being attacked by soft tongues.

"Stop stop!" I giggled as I heard Kakashi whistle and the tongues to stop.

"Are you alright Sakura?" he asked as he extended a hand to help me up. Other than having dog saliva on my face and having the wind knocked out of me, yeah.

"I'm fine," I told him, adjusting my clothing. There were about eight dogs of all different shapes and sizes looking at us expectantly.

"I'm really sorry about that. I forget they're not used to company."

"It's okay Kakashi," I smiled as I neared them. They all wagged their tails and appeared to be smiling at me, their pink tongues hanging out. They were sitting together and being perfectly well behaved. The smallest of them, a pug, came running towards him.

"This is Pakkun," he told me, picking the dog up easily and cradling him to his chest. He took my hand and held it near the dog's nose, letting him get used to me before Pakkun allowed me to pat him gingerly on the head. The dog closed his eyes as I scratched him behind his ears. "He seems to like you," Kakashi said as he set the dog down.

"He's cute," I smiled. "What about the rest of them?"

"The rest?" Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "Well, they're stays I've rescued. None of them have names."

There was a huge bulldog-mastiff cross, it looked like, that was laying on the floor, looking bored as a rather mischievous yellow one chewed on his ear lightly. Another bright yellow one with black eyes and black fur around them cocked his head to the side and perked up his ears.

A white one with black fur on his head gave me a rather shocked look as a brown one with big floppy ears looked bored. The stunning red one next to him sniffed the air as a dog with a strange mark on his head looked at Kakashi and I with a sad expression.

Most of the dogs were huge, with the exception of Pakkun and his strange marked friend with the sad face. No wonder Kakashi would need my help.

"Wow Kakashi, they all look so sweet," I smiled.

"They seem to like you," he shrugged. "Go right ahead and play with them for a little while. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and change before we get started."

"Okay." I crouched down to pet Pakkun as the rest of them walked over to join him. They were so soft and loving, definitely Kakashi's dogs. I thought he had mentioned a dog sometime ago, but I didn't realize there were so many. "You guys are so cute!" I cooed as I ended up just sitting down and letting them climb all over me.

I used the opportunity to look around his apartment.

The kitchen blended into his living room with a short hallway beyond that. I figured his bedroom and the bathroom were down there. He had nice views of the city from his huge living room window, just above his tan couch.

It was organized like his office had been before I helped him with it. Heaps of books and papers stacked all over the place. It was a wonder the dogs didn't chew them or knock them over or something.

The walls were a pale blue color, but it was what was on the walls that really drew me in.

There were scrolls hanging down with various rules and laws on them from times passed, with kunai knives scattered around and even holding them up. Shuriken were stuck in the walls or hanging off various places. There was a huge fan-looking weapon hanging on the wall above his television.

One kunai knife caught my attention. It was shaped differently and had some kind of writing on it. It was in a case away from the others. There was also another weapon put away in a case that looked something like a bat or maybe a knife in a strange sheath. Beside it was a strange white and red animal mask. It looked something similar to a dog.

His apartment probably should have freaked me out, but it didn't. In fact, he told me some things I needed to know about him, like his interests. It said that he was completely interested in ninjas and weaponry.

The dogs were now all crowded around me, the smaller ones in my lap and the bigger ones lying around me. It was impossible to pet and scratch all of them at the same time, but I tried.

"Wow, they really do like you," Kakashi said as he walked from down the hallway.

"I guess they do," I smiled. Kakashi rubbed the back of his head as he headed for us. The dogs all perked up, with the exception of the really big one. I couldn't help but notice how Kakashi looked today. He had changed out of the clothes from the night before, into a tight fitting black tank top with black sweat pants, full of holes. His face was still obscured though.

Once he got right down in front of us, I noticed something on his left arm that I hadn't before, I guess because it was covered and that one day in the gym I had been so distracted. There was a strange red swirling mark just under the sleeve. His gaze followed my eyes to his shoulder.

"What's that?" I grinned. "A tattoo?"

"My-oh this?" I nodded as I reached out to touch the skin. It was soft I noted as I traced the design. "It is a tattoo," he said.

"What's it from?"

"Well, it was actually a decision of mine and some friends to have it done after we graduated college. It was a ninja mark for a black ops team. Pretty cool huh?"

"Very cool," I told him as I gave it one more trace before letting my hand drift back to the dog in my lap.

"I've guessed you've noticed the ninja things around here?"

"I couldn't miss them," I laughed. "Not too much of a fan are you?"

"Of course not. It's a healthy lifelong obsession. Would you like me to show you some of them?"

"Yeah, that would be awesome!" He helped me move the dogs off my lap and then pulled me up from the floor.

He began to explain about the weapons I had already pointed out, which I knew because all the guys in our group had gone through a ninja phase at some point or another. But instead of stopping him, I allowed him to go on.

The few weapons I had not known, he informed me as to what they were.

The one above his television was a wind shuriken. The special kunai knife with the writing on the handle had been a gift from one of his teachers. But the one that looked similar to a bat was called a Tanto and it had belonged to Kakashi's father. He briefly explained that it was a special blade.

"Very interesting Kakashi," I smiled.

"Maybe one day I'll let you hold one of them or something," he said as he nudged me. "But right now, dogs are waiting for baths."

"I know. So, since this is your apartment, you direct me."

"Alright, we'll start with the biggest first." He pointed to huge bulldog-mastiff mix on the floor. He merely regarded us with sad eyes.

"Aw, look at that face," I cooed. Kakashi laughed as we tried to lift the dog off the floor. He was mostly uncooperative with us.

"Ugh, jeeze he weighs a ton." The dog finally relented and followed us down the hall. There was a door across from the open bathroom. I figured that was his bedroom. Kakashi mostly lifted the huge dog into the bath and shower. He lay down right away and looked like he was going to take a nap.

"Is he always this lively?" I teased.

"Always," Kakashi responded as he turned on the water. The dog groaned as he rested his head on the side of the tub. I sat on the toilet lid until Kakashi would need my help. He had a shower attachment so that he could spray the dog instead of trying to dump water on him.

"Do you need me to do anything?" The dog was completely wet.

"Yeah. Now for the fun part. We have to lather him up really good, so I need you to climb in and scrub his back while I scrub underneath."

"Okay, I can do that Master Kakashi," I smiled as I climbed in the tub with the dog. The water was lukewarm on my bare feet. I had abandoned my sandals as Kakashi was filling the tub and wetting the huge beast.

He was probably the size of a pony at a petting zoo. I felt a little intimidated as I took some of the shampoo from the bottle. I thought I was going to slip as I straddled the huge thing. I just hoped I wouldn't have to do this for all of them.

"That's a good boy," I said as I continued working his coat into a lather. I felt like Kakashi was watching more than just my hands or my face.

Before we could rinse him off, he began to shake his coat, sending shampoo and dirty water everywhere.

"Stop!" I yelled as I tried to cover my face. I could hear Kakashi laughing. I looked and found we were both covered in the bubbles. The dog was panting as he looked at both of us and tried to climb out.

"Oh no you don't," Kakashi told him as he held the dog in place. "Sakura," he started, chuckling so much he could hardly face me. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine, I'll just smell like a dog."

"Ahem. Well, me too." He turned on the water but he lost control of the spray head. The dog grabbed it and sprayed it all over the bathroom as well.

"Oh Kakashi! Stop him!" I had only brought a change of top layer clothes. Kakashi started laughing as he grabbed the shower head and aimed it on the dog.

"Sakura, I'm really sorry," he said, still kind of chuckling.

"No you're not. You just wanted me to get wet like that. I bet you and the dog planned it," I told him, feigning anger.

"Yeah we did," he joked. He was staring at my face as he finished rinsing the dog off and let him go. The huge beast lumbered along before stopping in the doorway. "You know, you're kind of cute when you're mad," he told me, brushing a wet strand behind my ear.

"I otta wail on you like I do to Naruto sometimes," I told him as I made a fist.

"Oh no, I'm scared," he laughed as he backed away. I got out of the tub and began to move toward him slowly. "Oh no Sakura, don't chase me," he mocked as he ran out of the room.

"Kakashi!" I yelled as I gave chase. He had run in the living room, the dogs running after him. I chased him around his coffee table, watching as he tripped over one of the canines and fell. I stood over him, getting the feeling that he had done that on purpose as he just wasn't the type to trip.

"Alright, you got me," he said. "Just don't hurt me," he said as he grabbed my wrist and tried to pull me down. I held out for a few minutes until I crashed on the floor beside him.

"Kakashi," I smiled.

"It's only fair." We sat there for a few minutes, letting the dogs run over us. We were both soaking wet, but that hardly mattered. "Well, we need to finish washing them so we can get you home before too late," he told me as we got up.

"That's fine," I said. Oh yeah, I was pretty much loving this.

X

After seven dogs later and a few hours had passed, Kakashi and I were sitting on his couch, just resting. He had placed a towel over his eyes as he told me a story or two about Pakkun as a puppy.

The little dog was resting in my lap, curled up like a ball and snoring away. I stroked his now soft and clean fur idly as I allowed myself to be mesmerized by Kakashi's voice.

"Sakura, thank you really for coming and helping today. I know this had to be kind of strange seeing how this is the end of the third week of school and all, but I feel like I can trust you Sakura, and that's not something a lot of people ever hear from me."

"Kakashi, it was no trouble," I blushed, avoiding his gaze. "Thank you for having me over," I said.

"To quote you, no problem," he countered. "Now, it's around two o' clock. Would you like to have some lunch before you go home?"

"Oh no, that's okay. I don't have to."

"Sakura, I'm willing to treat you for helping me out a lot today. We could just get take out from down the street since probably neither one of us are fit to sit down anywhere for a long period of time."

"Agreed. Though if you don't mind, I would like to change out of these wet clothes real fast. I brought some with me."

"That's perfectly fine Sakura. I think I'll go and change myself fast too." I grabbed my book bag and headed for the bathroom as he disappeared into his room. I caught my breath a minute as I leaned against the door before changing.

I was in my English professor's apartment. I was in Kakashi Hatake's apartment in the first three weeks of school and all I had done was be myself. I couldn't believe it. I looked around the tiny bathroom, the patterns of the wallpaper and the various hygienic products.

Wow, this was all surreal. I wondered if I was dreaming or having some kind of out of body experience. I pinched myself and found that wasn't the case. No, I was wide awake and this was really happening.

I changed as fast as I could out of the wet clothing before stuffing it in my bag and heading back to his living room. The dogs all greeted me and I really felt like they liked me. I loved on as many of them as I could get close to, laughing as they sent me on the floor again.

"You guys just want me on your level huh?" I surrendered. They answered by licking me in the face. I laughed and tried to stop them.

"Come on guys, leave the lady alone," Kakashi said as he came back down the hall. He was wearing a t-shirt and jeans. He shooed them away as he helped me off the floor. "We'll be back in a bit guys. Maybe the owners will have some treats for you," Kakashi told them as he began to shut the door. I left my back pack there, as we were coming back.

We rode the elevator down in a rather comfortable silence, listening to the music again. The desk manager lightly waved at us as we exited the building.

"I like your neighborhood," I told him as we walked along the sidewalk.

"You do?"

"Yes, it's nice. Everything is so close and you have all those wonderful dogs."

"Yeah, I guess I do."

"And your apartment, it's nice as well Kakashi," I said bluntly.

"Oh Sakura, you're too much," he joked. "Thank you though. You're welcome over anytime okay?"

"Okay," I nodded.

"You know though, I like your neighborhood and house too. It's quaint." I blushed. "I'm sure you don't believe me though," he laughed. "What do you want to eat?"

"I don't know, I'll eat about anything."

"Alright, that's fine. Like I said, just take out probably. I know this great little shop right around the corner. I don't want you to go home on an empty stomach, especially since you haven't eaten anything all day. Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes, I'm feeling fine." I was feeling more than fine, I was feeling just dandy walking along with him somewhere outside of school. I somehow felt a lot safer, which was strange as we were out in the open, I was a long way from home, and he was a lot older than me.

I, of course, didn't realize at the time that I would be spending more time at his apartment other times during the semester. We walked along in the Saturday afternoon sun, not a care in the world.

The take out place was a small ramen shop, which reminded me of the one back home that Naruto frequented. Kakashi ordered and I had trouble focusing with the wonderful smells wafting from various dishes. It appeared that Kakashi spent a lot of time there as well.

"This place has some of the best food for the least amount of money," Kakashi told me, holding up the bag as we walked back.

"It sure smells good," I commented.

"I have a feeling you're going to love it," he laughed.

"Are your feelings usually right?"

"Mmm most of the time. I can usually depend on them for things. Plus, in all the time we have spent together, I think I have you somewhat figured out."

"Oh really huh?" I laughed. "Am I really that transparent?"

"No actually. You've taken longer to figure than anyone else I know and I'm not completely sure I am right. We'll see how this goes."

Well I guess Kakashi did have some things figured out about me. As we ate the ramen while watching some t.v, I found that it was excellent food, something I would want more of.

"You were right," I told him as I tried to eat some of the noodles gracefully. They became entangled on my chopsticks and I wanted to laugh. The dogs watched us eat with anticipating faces.

"I was this time. One mark Kakashi and around one hundred for Sakura," he said. He kept his face turned away from me to eat.

"Still not going to let me see that face huh?"

"Nope, not today." I respected his wishes, keeping my eyes focused on something else other than his mask. His appearance made more sense though, as soon as I saw his apartment.

It was around three-thirty before I made it to the bus to go home. I didn't want to leave and said sad goodbyes to the dogs who even looked rather disappointed I was leaving. Time had seemed to fly while I was spending it with him.

My mother hadn't called yet, so I guess she fell for the lie. To think, I had been such a nice girl before I started college. My parents were very understanding of me to a point, but I didn't want to see how far the line actually went.

"Kakashi, thank you so much," I told him, smiling and blushing as I waited to board the bus.

"Anytime Sakura. I will see you Monday okay?"

"Okay." Just before I turned to climb the steps and leave him for just over a day, I stood up straighter and placed a soft kiss on his covered cheek before he even knew what hit him; before I even knew what hit me.

I boarded as fast as I could so that I could blush and giggle out of his sight. As the bus pulled away and headed home. I could not believe I had done that. The material was soft against my lips; his body was flush with mine for only a second.

I couldn't decipher his expression but he had reached a hand up to where I had kissed him and I thought I was the faintest blush. Yeah, I kissed my English teacher, well on the cheek. As soon as it set in, I nearly fainted.

And my parents never knew what I spent the whole weekend smiling about.

X

I spent the rest of the weekend trying to finish homework and keep from obsessing too much about Kakashi. I didn't hear from Ino or anyone else, but I figured they were just as busy as I was.

Monday was bright and cheerful as I headed into Tsunade's class. I greeted Hiro as we sat to take notes. I didn't notice that he was acting any differently. He smiled and spoke to me, polite and carefree as usual.

"Sakura, I want to talk to you after class," he said before Professor Tsunade began talking.

"Sure," I nodded.

"Haruno, be quiet!" Professor Tsunade yelled. In her arms was the stack of tests. I gulped a little as she passed them back out, though I really had no idea why as I made a ninety.

Hiro and I walked out into the hallway after most of the students left. I spent the whole period wondering what he wanted to say and now I would find out.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked brightly.

"Well-um-" He began to rub the back of his head. I waited. He was clearly trying to spit something out, something important. "Well the homecoming dance, um-would-would you like to go with me?"

I just stood there, with a very nervous Hiro. What was I going to do?

X

**Author's End Note: **Like it? Love it? Hate it? See mistakes? Wonder what's going to happen next? Review!


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note**: Chapter 8 is finally here! I am so sorry it took longer than expected. I have really been busy this week with my first brit lit exam, god was it a killer, an in class ecology quiz, which was brutal, and three political science papers to hand in, which I wrote two of the night before they were due. I do not recommend that at all. Also getting a much needed haircut, asymetrical and very cool. I wish I was as good a student as Sakura sometimes. She is surpassing me haha. But I'm quite sure you guys don't care anything about what I do in a week or two as you do what Sakura does in a week and weekend.

So fair is fair. I have kept you waiting long enough to see what she is going to say or do next. Well, there are my usual things to note and such about this chapter. She does give her answer. She does hang out with Kakashi as usual. I know this may seem like it skips around some, but well, I realized since I was back in school after about a month off that your days just get rather monotone, even when you hang out with people all day. So, sorry if it skips some, I hope it makes up for it with all the other things I included ; I also hope nothing seems rushed in this and apologize if it does, but I don't think it does really, considering the things that are occuring, it just seemed something that would be in Kakashi's nature to me. Okay, just rambling now. So now is where the story is going to focus on the growing relationship between them and will hopefully have less fillers and take off more. Not as long a chapter, but really hope you guys enjoy it and I am sorry for it taking me so long to update.

Also, I would like to tell you to go and check out **Wish We Were Older **by **Ryn729**. She was inspired by this story and wrote an excellent one-shot using an excellent song

As always, I encourage reviews and the checking out of my profile. Also feel free to email me just to chat. I'm nice I swear! Especially if you want to know what is going to happen next or if you're really interested in college life, or whatever. I also encourage fanart based on this if you are artistically gifted or bored and all, and also your own stories of this too, just make sure you consult me first.

Again, thank you so much everyone for the reviews and encouragement and stories so far. I really squeal when I get reviews as I still upload chapters to this thinking it won't get any. Yes, unconfident author I know. Really, you guys are amazing and I hope to keep your interest. Happy reading!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or its characters. I only own Hiro. This story is rated M for good reason for things like sexual content and language.

* * *

She's Leaving Home

Chapter 8

I wondered at first if I was going crazy and possibly dreaming.

No, that couldn't be right. I would never be that lucky.

No, Hiro was standing in front of me, awaiting my answer as my lips just froze in place. He bit his lip as he pushed his glasses up his nose. Oh kuso, oh kuso, what should I do?

"Um wow Hiro," I said, trying to keep my voice as cheerful as possible. What should I do?

I thought back to what I knew about Hiro so far. He was a History major, lived at home, had one or two friends that I had seen, and no girlfriend. I felt a pang of guilt. Yes, this was the boy I should have been falling for instead of Kakashi who was probably too old for me.

"So…?" He looked so light hearted about it, but I knew that either way, my decision would have a huge effect on him. It was like the weight of the fucking world.

Smiling as bright as I could, I answered: "Yes, as friends, let's go together."

"Thank you Sakura!" he said, grabbing me in a hug. His slightly taller body was warm and soft against mine, but nothing like Kakashi's. It lacked the experience. He was just as virgin as I was.

That should have been attractive, but it wasn't, compared to Kakashi. I just let him hold me for a few seconds before he let go and gave me his number. I gave mine back, but I figured I would never call it very often.

I know that sounded terrible, but it was the truth. Of course, that was subject to change. I mean, we were friends after all. I had a feeling that we were just going to remain friends as I had no attraction to him other than friendship.

"No problem Hiro," I told him as he let go.

"Really, this is one of the greatest things anyone has ever done for me," he grinned, his eyes sparkling behind his glasses. "You won't regret this." All I could do was smile politely as he headed off down the hall. God, he just had to add that weight to me as well.

What was I going to do though?

Kakashi had told me in advance to avoid me bringing another guy. This was bad; real bad.

I shouldered my book bag and all but ran to Kakashi's office. I had to tell him right then how bad I thought I had screwed up. I felt so unbelievably guilty; of course that was really nothing compared to what was coming in due time.

"Sakura," he said, looking up at me from his orange book. I was standing in his doorway with heavier breath. "Something wrong?"

"I need to talk to you right away," I told him, plopping down in the chair across from him.

"Alright, I have time this afternoon."

"It's about the dance." He nodded for me to continue and I felt so bad for what I was about to confess but I did it anyway. I spilled the information out in nearly one sentence and had to catch my breath as I waited on a reply. "I'm really sorry," I added. "Really sorry." I bowed my head, thinking he was going to end any and all communication with me just for this mistake.

Much to my surprise, Kakashi merely started chuckling.

"That's just fine," Kakashi told me. Had he listened? Or was he going to end it now?

"What?"

"Don't you see? You can still dance with me. This is a perfect cover," he told me. "God I wish I had thought of it, to let you come with a friend. I understand how it is to come alone to these things. And I understand that you're friends from Tsunade. It is alright Sakura. Don't worry."

"Are you sure?" I asked. I didn't want to have pissed him off. I hoped it wasn't just pure sarcasm coming through or that he was lying.

"I swear on my life and family honor," he told me.

"Honestly?" I didn't know anything about his family other than his parents were dead. A few tears had slipped down my cheek I was so upset. My hormones were probably raging about now and my period would probably start.

"Yes Sakura. You can't help he asked you. I mean, if I were a student, I would ask you too," he chuckled. He got up and moved around the desk to embrace me, wiping the tears away with his thumb. "It's okay," he told me, "I'm not mad and this doesn't change anything. We'll still dance okay? Just please don't be upset."

"Alright," I nodded, trying to smile.

"There's my girl," he said, looking into my eyes. He stared at me for a few seconds longer before he moved back around the desk. "Do you have something to do or do you want to hang out in here?"

"Hang out in here of course," I told him. "You might need me."

"That's true," he mused. "You are my assistant after all."

"Will we be getting back test scores today?"

"Yes, but you can't find out what you made here. You'll have to wait like everyone else."

"That's fine. I'm in a good mood anyway."

"I take it that you passed Tsunade's with flying colors?"

"Mhm. A ninety."

"Excellent work Sakura," he nodded.

"Thank you," I bowed.

Then it hit me; neither one of us was had mentioned the kiss from Saturday. Should I bring it up? I bit my lip as I pulled out one of my books. I knew I needed to get started on some of the projects I had due at the end of the semester.

"Sakura, I get the idea there is something you want to discuss?"

"Yes actually." I gulped; I needed to get everything off my chest.

"Okay, go ahead. I'm listening."

"About that kiss Saturday…" I stopped, looking up to watch his face. He was staring at me intently. I found I would had leaned across the desk right then and kissed him.

"I rather enjoyed it," he told me, his one visible eye sparkling.

"Good," I breathed a sigh of relief.

"It was a sweet gesture, though I don't know if I deserved it or not."

"Yes, of course you did," I told him.

"Well, If you say so," he told me. "Do you kiss everyone?" he teased.

"Oh yes, all the time. I'm such a flirt," I winked. "Men are just attracted to me. It's like a super power," I joked. I saw his face darken strangely for a second; so fast that I wasn't sure I saw what I thought I did.

"Oh of course, of course," he laughed. I thought I heard him mumble something about if only I knew. It was one of those things that I was only half sure I heard, but I had to wonder.

I stayed in his office until time to go to class. It had been mostly quiet with both of us working on papers and things, but I wasn't complaining. I was still just amazed that this man found my company enjoyable. I didn't regret any time I spent with him.

I made sure that we were even early to class. Kakashi teased me about being on time, but it was only teasing after all. His habit of being late was actually rather cute.

Hinata and Naruto arrived about the same time we did, the class already having some students in it. All the girls already in desks gave me an evil eye as Kakashi walked in behind me and put his things on the desk.

Were things already getting out of hand? Though, maybe they looked at me like that every time I came in the classroom and I had failed to notice it. I could see Kakashi looking at them as well, his one visible eye stern as the looks focused on him instead of me. He knew.

Tonight, I would be riding home on the bus with Hinata and Naruto, like I did at first. Kakashi didn't have anything to do tonight except go home and walk his dogs. We had already discussed it; though, he gave me his cell phone number, which functioned as his house number as well.

"Should you need anything," he said when he programmed it into my cell phone. Two numbers in one day. Oh god, what was I getting myself into?

He passed back the tests as he gave the next assignment. Of course, it was an essay. I had made a ninety-nine, only missing part of a two question answer. He winked at me. Or it could have been a blink, hard to tell.

"Where were you today?" Naruto asked on the bus ride home. I knew they would start questioning me, or at least Naruto.

"I was helping Professor Kakashi," I said, using my matter-of-fact voice.

"But you usually help him after school instead of right after Biology."

"Well, he needed it early today so I wouldn't have to stay late." He raised an eyebrow.

"Is something going on between you two? We didn't see you at all over the weekend and one of my classmates said that you and Kakashi were at the club this Friday." I was trapped. Naruto had me with two sentences.

"I-" I couldn't explain myself. Nothing would sound good no matter what I answered. I tried to think of something.

"Naruto," Hinata said sharply. "Just drop it. It's none of your business." Oh man, I could have married Hinata on the spot. If anyone was the voice of reason in our group, it was her.

"Fine, but when it is revealed that Sakura is sleeping with our English professor and the whole school goes up in fucking flames, don't come crying to me," Naruto said. "Sakura has been acting weird this last week, don't deny that you have noticed Hinata."

"Naruto," she gasped. I knew they were just worried about me. Hell, I was even worried. I mean, I had been drinking and dancing with Kakashi Friday night. Then, I went to his apartment, after lying to my mother. But everything this weekend had been completely innocent. He was now glaring fiery daggers at me.

"Fine!" I shouted. "You want to know what the hell is going on with me?" I yelled. The few people on the bus with us turned to look at me, but I didn't care. I was going to set him straight, at least for a little while, even if I had to hit him over the head for it. "Then god damnit I'm going to tell you," I said.

Poor Hinata gasped and looked like she was going to faint at my choice of words. They hadn't heard me use that one, at least in a while. I was supposed to be goody-two shoes pink Sakura. I felt like a dirty blossom instead of the pretty petals I was named for.

"Friday he asked to meet me at the club. It was kind of a thank you for helping him out Friday morning with my usual duties. He made me run a note to Professor Guy for god's sake! Have you seen that man and Rock Lee? No you haven't!" Oh boy, I was on a roll.

"The drink he bought me got mixed up with an alcoholic one, then I was drunk and dancing. But only dancing. It's not like I kissed him or something! But, since I was drunk, he had to ride home with me instead of putting me on the bus alone and hoping I made it. To be sure I didn't choke on my own vomit or something, he spent the night.

The next morning, before my parents came home, he invited me to his apartment to help him with his eight dogs. Yeah, I said eight. Wanna correct me smart guy?" I held my fist near his face, watching his eyes bug out. "Which, the afternoon was nice and innocent you ass. He gave me lunch and then put me on the bus back home. Got it?" He hadn't been yelled at in a while and it was due time.

Both of them were staring at me like I had lost my mind. The way I had been shouting and trying to kill Naruto, I guess I had temporarily. At their stunned faces, I felt terrible. Hinata was looking faint.

"I'm sorry you guys, it's just…"

"One more time and you're off the bus for the day," the bus driver shouted.

"I'm sorry," I said. This was only the beginning of the fourth week of school and already I was beginning to crack.

"Well if that was all it was," Naruto said. The angry look was gone from his face. I was pretty sure my period would be starting soon. I was already pretty mood-swingy. Plus it was the first of the month, the usual time for it.

"Well, that's not all. Now Hiro from Biology has asked me to the Homecoming dance."

"What's so bad about that?"

"Well, I was going to not take a date to it, so that I could dance with Kakashi. He told me about it before anyone else knew, just to avoid it. He's not mad that someone asked me, but I still feel terrible about it." I slumped in the seat.

"Sakura-" Hinata said. She was covering her mouth and looking like she was going to cry. I was ready to cry. "Everything will work out. There is nothing wrong with being with your teacher," she said timidly.

I was surprised. I guessed that having sex with Naruto had done something to her. Ordinarily, she never would have told me something like that. I couldn't imagine having sex with the yellowed hair troll myself, but that was only because we had been friends so long.

See, bitchy mood again.

"Well, I guess it is better than something else," Naruto agreed. "At least he can put up with your ugly mug all the time."

"What was that?" I growled as I held my fist near his face again.

"Well, at least right now you're just friends. But Sakura, it's wrong." I hated it when they were on opposite sides of things. It was bad to have one on your side and one off the other.

"Naruto, that's not for us to decide," Hinata told him. He couldn't deny his girlfriend. "It's none of our business really, to be asking around, unless she feels like sharing with us."

"But Hinata, she's our friend. We're supposed to be concerned for her."

"I know, but concerned and nosy are opposite sides of a fence. Unless Sakura wants to tell us these things, then you shouldn't ask them when she is having such a hard time with it." I hated to see them argue, though I was proud of Hinata for standing up for herself.

"Guys, it's okay. I'm just having a bad day. If something happens, then I'll let you two know. I don't see anything wrong with being a teacher's friend and assistant." They looked at each other and nodded, dropping the subject.

Talk returned to school and grades, then their weekend, and it stayed away from Kakashi. I kept the thought in the back of my mind, about having a relationship with him. How would that work out?

Already it was turning my friends against each other. It would have to be secret. But who was I kidding? We were just friends after all. A girl could dream though. And dream I did.

The relationship would be rather like Romeo and Juliet, secret and passionate. Or maybe something like Lancelot and Guinevere. A good mix of both, only without the tragedy. He would be my protector, my love, mine.

I mean, Kakashi acted like he was interested enough, or maybe it was all in my head. Maybe I was just dreaming the whole thing up. This whole weekend may not have been real? No, Kakashi had been in my house, in my mother's chair.

I had sat in it to study last night and it still smelled of him to me. He plagued my dreams, my time in class, my study time, my time out of class. He was taking over and Sasuke was on his way out. Come to think of it, I had not thought about him in a while. I wondered what he was doing these days.

I felt like the weight of the world was upon me though, as I leaned my head against the class for a little while. Why did Hiro have to like me?

Wasn't it funny how life went? You like one person, then someone like you, and none of them are the same person. That was not the funny "haha" type.

"Sakura, are you okay?" Naruto asked.

"Hm?" The bus had stopped.

"Oh yeah, let's go." I followed them off, parting ways and heading for my house.

"Hey honey," my mother said once I was inside. One of my parents was home? I was a little stunned. I figured they would be at work or something.

"Hey mom," I greeted her as I took my things to my room.

"How was school?" She dropped my laundry on my dresser as she followed me.

"Oh, it was fine," I told her.

"Anything exciting happen?" Here is where I had to pick and choose carefully what to tell her.

"Yeah, the school is having a homecoming dance and I got asked to go with a boy," I said, plastering a fake smile on my face. My mother would never know the difference.

"Oh that's wonderful honey!" she all but screamed. "What's his name? What's he look like? Tell me all about him." She sat down on my bed, looking expectant.

"His name is Hiro Tanaka. He's a history major and a freshman like me." I went on to describe how he looked and about anything else I could remember about him, just to satisfy my mother. But the more I talked about him, the more I wished Kakashi could take me.

"He sounds nice Sakura. When is the dance?"

"Next Friday."

"Well, how about this weekend I take you to look for a dress? And Hinata too, if she would like to go." I knew my mother would want to do that. She had for the Sadie Hawkins dance and for prom this past spring as well.

"Yeah, that will be nice," I nodded. "I'll tell Hinata as well. Maybe even Kurenai would like to come along."

"It will be a regular girl's day out. Your father and I will be home this week, but I'm sorry to tell you that probably every weekend after that we'll be gone." I knew that was coming somehow. It happened last year.

"Okay mom, it's no big deal."

"Are you sure honey?" she asked.

"Yes, mom. It's life, I understand." That meant more weekends with Kakashi possibly.

"Thank you honey, you're an angel." She kissed my head and left the room. I sighed as I sat on my bed. Now I was locked into going with Hiro. Grumbling, I lay back on the bed to finish homework for the next day as I waited on dinner.

X

Jiraiya was reasonably tame for his class as we actually discussed history for once. Of course, it was great romantic affairs in history, but he was improving.

In Iruka's class, he lined us up in the hall and called us in one by one to see our test grades before dismissing us for a research day. I had made a ninety-two. We only had one paper due in there around the eighth week of school. I debated on going to the library for the rest of class or going to the lawn.

I had brought my music with me this morning because I would be on the bus alone and I was quite frankly tired of my own thoughts. You could just lose yourself in it, let it consume your body.

Making a quick decision, I headed to the library, which I had yet to use and should have become acquainted with. There was a computer free at the small lab, as I guessed most of my classmates had gone home, so I grabbed it and started working.

By the time class was supposed to be over, I was half way done with the small paper. The paper was supposed to be between three and four pages, double spaced, and on a current event. It wasn't exactly complicated. I saved it before I left.

I liked a variety of different music. It ranged from rock to techno. If it had a beat, I would probably like it. The song on my ipod was particularly catchy. It took a lot of willpower not to dance as I walked down the halls to go to the outside.

It was a kind of overcast day and the sun wasn't so hot. I had worn a short black skirt with a button down white top and ankle boots. I didn't think I looked all that great, but that was just me. As soon as I passed the double doors to the outside, my hips began to sway to the music.

There was no one around to watch anyway. My head bobbed, my pink hair falling around my face. I continued like that all the way out to the tree. God, you just have to love techno. It reminded me of the club music and I couldn't help but think of the past Friday nights with Kakashi.

I swiveled my hips around, pushing my ass out just a little as I pivoted around and shook my head. I wanted to jump and shake my hair in my face. I was in front of the huge trunk anyway, no one would see me.

My hair fell in my eyes as I surrendered to the pounding beats and synthesized notes. I forgot that Kakashi would probably be joining me and so my heart nearly jumped out of my chest when arms encircled my waist and pulled me to a lean and muscular body.

Someone else's hips ground into mind as I went limp in their arms. I looked down and recognized the sleeves of the black shirt as their owner's silky black mask pressed to my exposed neck. His nose nuzzled the ear phone out as he breathed my name.

"Kakashi," I gasped. He chuckled. I could feel the place between my legs swell a little with the heated position and situation, liquid collecting there. I bit my lip to keep from moaning as he held me close until I stood upright again.

"Hm, I like your music," he said. I had turned it up loud enough that it could be heard even though the ear phone wasn't in my ear. The place between my legs began to ache and I was close to biting my lip through. I wanted so bad to reach down and relieve it, or better yet, let him relieve it.

His arms were holding me tightly, his hands lightly resting on my stomach and the front of my hips. His fingers stroked the soft material of the skirt, seemingly absent mindedly.

"You look beautiful today," he said. "You should dress like this more often."

"Thank you," I told him. He gave me another squeeze as he let go.

"Just like at the club. Do you often dance at school? Or was this just for me?"

"I didn't know you were out here."

"I was up in the tree, watching. You really know how to move," he said. His eye was twinkling as I turned to face him, blushing more than Hinata.

"How long have you been up there? You're hardly on time to anything."

"Oh, long enough to see you. You're actually late today."

"I was in the library."

"Working on something for Iruka's class?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"I saw him heading for his office. I figured it was this time of year already. The clock in the library is a bit wrong."

"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind."

"So, would you like to have a seat?" I nodded, as we sat down under the trunk. The air wasn't very hot today and the grass was soft. Kakashi and I sat shoulder to shoulder as we spent our usual after noon together.

I loved how we could talk about just about anything. Even though he didn't say a lot, just having something to sit with me and listen was enough. If we weren't speaking, then we were reading or he was helping me study for classes.

Today was one of our more talkative days.

"So what are your plans for the weekend?" he asked.

"I don't know about Friday night yet," I winked. "But Saturday my mother is supposed to take Hinata and I looking for dresses. Though, that is subject to change."

"Oh, I see. Well that sounds like fun," he said. "Are you looking for something to do on Friday night?"

"Well are you offering?" I laughed.

"I don't know. There is the club or actually, I was thinking about going to see a movie. But you know movies kind of suck when you go alone. So…"

"Well, to make it suck less, I could happen to be there," I smiled. "As long as Hinata and Naruto can join me."

"It sounds like we have a plan," he said, his usual amusement tinting his voice. We were silent for a little while, just watching the world outside of the comfort of the tree. "You know Sakura, I wish I could come and pick you up one Friday," he confessed.

"I wish you could too." You know, it sounded like we were already an item or long-time friends.

"Well, one Friday I am going to," he laughed. "I'm going to steal you away from this place," he said as he started to tickle me.

"Well I would like that sensei," I laughed. "Steal me away." I fell back in the grass, my sides heaving from his attack as he fell on top of me. It was innocent enough, but not so innocent thoughts were raging through my head.

The liquid began to collect again as the ache returned and the tissues swelled. He was hovering over me, parts of him touching my stomach and legs as his one visible eye looked between my small breasts to my face.

I looked back, my mouth slightly open as I tried to breathe. His hands were over mine, pinning my hands and the rest of my body to the ground. My knee was on the side of his head and I was terrified that he could see up my skirt, smell my arousal.

We stayed like that a few moments, before he moved in, his face becoming dangerously close. His body was pressed nearly flush against mine and I was so close to moaning and taking him right there. Oh god how I wanted him to end the aching that had been plaguing me.

My hips wanted to buck up into him, to let him do with my body as he wished, to make it his. I wanted his hand below my waist, touching the folds, slipping a finger inside of me. I wanted him inside of me, claiming me.

His face wasn't so far away from mine now. I could see every detail. He leaned in, curiously. One of his hands released mine and reached up for his mask.

Was he going to show me? Was he going to kiss me? What was going to happen?

He pulled the material down some, watching my mouth open a little wider. I was scared that I was salivating on myself.

"Want to see?" he asked, his voice low and seductive. I nearly orgasmed right there. I could imagine he would use that voice during sex. I nodded shortly. "Behind this mask…" He pulled the material down at a painstakingly slow pace. "Is…" The material was jerked down and I gasped. "Another mask!" There was a black sheer material now stretched over his face.

I pushed him off of me.

"You asshole!" I shouted, well laughed and shouted. Kakashi was laughing almost hysterically as he pulled the first mask back up. Once again I had been unable to see what he really looked like. The sheer didn't give away as much as I would have thought.

I gasped when I realized what I had just called a professor. I sat up and held my hands over my mouth. Kakashi only continued laughing as he lay in the grass. I couldn't believe what he had just done. Well actually, I could, I just didn't want to.

"I'm sorry Sakura. It was just too good of a moment to pass up," he said as he sat up and put his arm around me. I was still rather pissed off.

"Well, it wasn't very nice," I pouted. I was all heated up for nothing, although, when I thought about it, it was kind of soon to have sex with him. Though if he had offered the first day, I would have taken him up on it. "To apologize, you should let me see your face now."

"You're right, I should, but I'm not going to right now." I pouted.

"Well at least let me see your nose."

"My nose?"

"Yes."

"I guess that is fair enough." He reached his hand up again and pulled both pieces of material down the bridge of his nose slowly, revealing creamy white skin to me. It was the color of real cream and probably just as smooth. He pushed the material back up.

"Wow," I said. It was nothing like I thought it would be. It was perfect. I was dying to know of the rest of his face looked then. "You're such a tease," I smiled.

"I know, but so are you with that skirt and shirt," he laughed, gesturing to them. I blushed. "But that's okay. All is fair."

"Yes we're even, for now." I knew it was getting close to Asuma's class, so I asked the time. Kakashi told me and it was time to be heading there. I didn't like being late to his class because of the looks he always gave people.

"Come on, I'll walk you, though I don't want you to leave," he said. "I really like our time spent together."

"Me too, Kakashi." He helped me up, brushing off my outfit, his hands gliding over the material. I could feel myself becoming aroused again. I wondered if this would happen all the time or was this something special.

"There you go," he said. His hands were still resting on my body, as he looked me over before he walked me to class. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said cheerfully, though it looked like his one eye looked rather sad he was leaving me at Asuma's class.

"Alright Kakashi, tomorrow." As usual. But I made another ninety on another test.

That night, when I was laying bed. It happened again. I had to relieve myself. I thought about this afternoon, how close he had been to my seeping crotch as I tangled my fingers in the liquid, slipping a finger inside.

I thought about how he nearly kissed me and how much his body was pressed into mine again as that finger began to move at a faster pace. And then my imagination took off…

X

The week passed as a pretty average one. I did school work, I hung out with Naruto and Hinata, and I spent a lot of time with Kakashi. Of course, the time was nothing like Tuesday, but that was okay, just as long as I got to spend time with him.

Hiro was another matter though. Anytime he saw me, he smiled as broad as his face would allow and would wave like crazy. Friday he even followed me to the offices as I was trying to get to Kakashi. He turned off somewhere else though and I had to wonder.

"Are you excited about the movie tonight?" Kakashi asked as I helped him put away files and papers.

"Yes, of course," I beamed.

"Good, I'm glad Sakura." I had to wonder if he had something else planned. Did he know how I felt about him? He must have. "And I'm glad you came to help me out as usual today."

"It's no problem Kakashi, you know that."

X

"Okay mom, I'm leaving!" I yelled as I kept my hand on the doorknob. "Don't wait up for me!"

"Alright honey, have fun!" I wasn't sure what part of the house my parents were in, but I didn't care. I didn't want to know anyway. Just as I had predicted, my period had started and I felt kind of miserable. But, tonight was hopefully going to make up for that.

Naruto and Hinata met me at the bus stop. I was kind of relieved not to be going to the club tonight. I just didn't think I was up to it.

We had to ride two different buses to get to the theater and they were pretty crowded. I couldn't see Kakashi anywhere. Hesitating, I debated on whether to call him or not.

"There you are," I heard someone say behind us.

"What the hell?" Naruto shouted as he nearly jumped into Hinata's arms. I had told them that Kakashi was going to meet us there.

"Something wrong Naruto?" Kakashi asked. Tonight, he was wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and some type of black scarf. That thing was just tempting me to pull it down.

"No, not at all," he said, trying to cover up. Hinata just smiled shyly.

"Hello Sakura," he said, nodding his head. I noticed his hands were in his pockets.

"Hey Kakashi!"

"Shall we get in line?" he asked the group. It looked like we were on a double date. I didn't recognize anyone from the school in line. Most of them looked like high-schoolers and middle aged people. Did Kakashi pick the movies to avoid us being seen at the club again? Or was there really a movie he wanted to see?

"What are we going to see again?" Naruto asked, playing the dumb face.

"Oh, I guess I didn't tell Sakura. This theater shows a vintage movie every Friday night and tonight it's Enter the Dragon with Bruce Lee." He nodded toward the vintage poster.

Of course that's why he chose the movies tonight. It was one of my favorites. Who did not love some Bruce Lee? I squealed a little.

"Surprise," Kakashi laughed. I squealed again and hugged him. I didn't remember him telling me what movie we were going to see.

"Thank you Kakashi!" I told him, squeezing my arms around him. He laughed and ruffled my pink hair. Hinata smiled at me and Naruto made a face.

"No problem. I saw in the paper that it was one of the ones going to play and thought you would like to see it on the big screen," he said. We were some of the few in the line to see it. The air tonight was a little colder and I was glad I had worn a light jacket.

Kakashi didn't let me pay either, as usual. I tried and tried, but he denied my requests. We finally agreed on that I would buy the popcorn.

"Alright, I'll let you do that, but only the popcorn," he chuckled, running a hand through his messy grey hair.

"Fine, though you should really let me pay," I said.

"But I enjoy treating you like you deserve," he shrugged, as we followed behind Naruto and Hinata. She was trying to talk him out of buying a box of candy. Well, several boxes of candy.

"Really?" I blushed.

"Yes, of course." He put his arm around my shoulders. I ordered medium popcorn for us to share. We snacked on it while we waited on Hinata and Naruto.

Kakashi and I sat next to each other in the slightly darkened theater, with Hinata seated beside me and Naruto on her other side. I guess she figured that Naruto and I might get in a fight. We were seated rather close to the front. There was almost no one in there with us.

I set the bucket between us, to share. Or at least I tried until it nearly fell and I had to hold it in my lap. Kakashi reached over for a handful of it. From probably anywhere else in the room, it looked really bad.

Under the lights, I thought I saw faint blush paint his pale skin. But lately I had been thinking my mind was going as I was starting to see and hear things I wasn't sure of.

The movie started before anything awkward could happen. I watched avidly, counting on luck to keep Kakashi's and my hands from clashing in the bucket. Of course, it wasn't long before they did, so that we were holding hands in the bucket practically.

I looked up at him and he looked down at me, and then we both look at our intertwining hands. I blushed and quietly removed mine, but Kakashi grabbed it anyway. He moved the empty popcorn to an empty seat beside him and held my hand.

Kakashi was holding my hand, on purpose. I looked at him, but he was focusing on the screen again. I blushed and let him hold it. His hand was warm and soft, covering mine for the most part.

What did this mean? I tried to focus on the movie again, but my mind continued wandering back to his face. Every now and again, I could see his one visible eye glancing at me. I blushed deeply and was grateful for the darkness.

Just before the lights came on, he released my hand and we shot up before Naruto and Hinata. They were both probably giving us strange looks, but right then I didn't care. Kakashi had held my hand during a movie. The first time anyone had ever done that.

"Well, it's getting late. I guess I better get you guys back to the bus stop," he shrugged, running a hand through his messy grey hair again. We followed him out of the crowded theater, into the surprisingly chilly night.

Naruto and Hinata walked ahead of us again, leaving us free to talk.

"I'll ride the bus back to the school with you guys," Kakashi said.

"Alright, thank you," I nodded.

"Hey, it's no problem. Did you like seeing the movie?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you so much again." I felt like I was running out of things to say. Kakashi was just so cool and I felt so awkward. "Really, no one has ever done something so nice for me."

"Sakura, as I was saying earlier, you deserve it and more." He felt between us, grabbing my hand. I gasped, sucking in the air. "Do you mind if I hold your hand?"

"G-go right ahead," I stuttered. He squeezed warmth into my fingers. I didn't realize how cold they were until our hands were connected. We were quiet as we watched Naruto act out scenes from the movie all by himself.

Our bus ride was almost as equally quiet, but that was just fine. He knew the power he was exerting over me, just by holding my hand.

"I like holding your hand," he whispered in my ear, once we were at the school's stop. I didn't know how to reply and he wasn't expecting one. I could almost see him smile. I felt the cold of his arms seeing through mine.

"Can you hold onto me? I'm kind of scared," I lied. I didn't want his arms to be cold, or for him to get sick.

"I don't believe that, but if you want my arms to warm up, then I will." It was like the time after the club, when he held me against him to keep me from stumbling over. I wasn't very surprised that he saw through it. It was very very weak indeed.

His arms wrapped around me as we watched Naruto and Hinata kiss under the streetlamp. His cold seeped into me and my warmth into him until the bus arrived. He had let his head rest on my shoulder, so that his hair tickled my neck and mixed with my pink locks.

"I'll see you later Kakashi," I told him before I boarded the bus.

"You too Sakura," he whispered in my ear. Instead of me kissing his cheek this time, he walked me right up to the door, planted a kiss on my cheek with the mask and then helped me on.

I could have fainted. Not only had he held my hand, but he had just kissed my cheek! I plopped in a seat in front of Naruto and Hinata, holding my face.

They asked me repeatedly what was wrong, but I merely shook my head and left my hand where it was. The spot burned and I wanted him to kiss it again. He hadn't even used his lips. But he had kissed me this time.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Hinata told me. I nodded, as the three of us parted ways. My world was spinning. I half stumbled in the house, thankful that no one was awake to see my current state of kiss-drunkenness. The bus ride had been nothing. I had barely noticed it. My skin was on fire and my senses alive. I wanted to masturbate right then, but I couldn't thanks to the blood.

I settled instead for my dreams, all of which were extremely vivid.

X

"Sakura, come on, those dresses aren't going to find themselves!" my mother shouted. Hinata and Kurenai were at our house already. I was trying to pull a sock on my foot. I had slept through around four or five of my mother's wake up calls.

She wasn't happy with me.

I slipped my shoes on and grabbed my purse as I headed for the door. I just hoped the trip wasn't going to take too long.

Instead of going into the city, we drove to the local mall to check first. Instead of boring you with details of how many dresses Hinata and I tried on, what worked and what didn't. It bored me to tears; that is until I saw the dress I knew was it.

While I know I should tell you how the dress looked and why it was the perfect one, I'm going to hold off on that for an impact. Just so you know how special this night really was. I cradled the gown to my chest as we rode home again, taking special care to put it up where it would not get ruined before Friday night.

X

**Author's End Note: **Love it? Hate it? Like it? Mistakes? Review!


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: **Okay, here is chapter nine. I am really sorry this took longer to get up there. I know I've added several stories, both yaoi and het to the site instead of updating and well, those things just happen as inspiration strikes. Thank you to anyone from here that has read them and reviewed though! That is awesome!

So I hope I don't disappoint with this chapter. I will tell you know that the dance and such will be the next chapter. Sorry in advance. A lot is probably going to happen over the weekend again as the dance is right before something else. Plus, there is some information in the chapter and some characters coming into play again and for the first time. So, while it may seem shorter and less lemony or action packed as the others, thats because it has more information. I don't want to give anything away. You will find out what her dress looks like though!

I apologize now if anyone is out of character, if there are any mistakes, etc. I hope this makes up for school and other muses starting to get to me as this last week at school was a very trying one in which I failed one test because I blanked out on lists, then aced the other two I had been worried about. So you could say my confidence in all things is a bit blown.

I would also like to take this time out to thank each and everyone of you that has reviewed and got it to 100. I am stunned, really stunned and I could never have done it without your help! I am really humble and continue to thank you guys for so much support as I just never thought I would even make it this far. So really, thank you so much and I hope to continue to hear from you guys as it gives me courage that this is one thing in my life I'm not messing up or failing at completely!

Happy reading! Hope everyone is having or has had a safe holiday!

Also, I would like to make you aware that I have a poll up on my profile for you guys to vote on. Kind of as a way to thank you for getting me this far, in regards to a one-shot pairing.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or its characters; I do not own the title of the story. No money is being made from this. I only own Hiro.

* * *

She's Leaving Home

Chapter 9

Sunday was usually a day that I slept in again, but Saturday I had been invited to Hinata's. I didn't want to say "no" even though I would have preferred to stay home. I felt like I hadn't had much of the weekend to myself, not that I was complaining.

She was having some kind of family get together and wanted me there for company. At least I would be there with Neji too.

"Sakura, get up if you're going over to Hinata's!" my mother yelled into my room. I rolled out of the bed, stumbling toward the bathroom.

I got a halfhearted shower, as tomorrow was the day that I wanted to look really good. Kakashi's kiss from Friday night still lingered. I had spent most of yesterday touching it.

Today was September 9th. In a few weeks would be Shikamaru's birthday, the 22nd. The day after it was Ino's.

The 14th was the dance. Today was the start of the 5th week. I shook my head and turned off the water. It was too early to be thinking of numbers. How insane.

I got out and dressed in jeans and one of my nicer tank tops. I wasn't sure what Hinata meant by family, like it if was Kurenai's or someone else's. At least I would look okay.

"I'll see you later mom!" I called. She must have gone back to bed. I left the house, walking down the street in the rather chilly morning. I had worn a light hoodie to keep my soaking hair under control.

Hinata's house wasn't so far from here and I needed the exercise anyway. I wasn't doing as good with keeping my training up like I had over the summer and in high school. I just didn't have any time.

I put my earphones in and started jogging lightly. I was trying not to think, but when you do things like that, it usually ends up going the wrong way.

I ended up thinking about everyone I hadn't seen in a while, especially Sasuke. While I didn't have the same feelings for him as I did before I entered college, I still worried about him. What was he up to these days?

I knew Itachi was still in prison, but sometimes I had to wonder why he killed his family you know? What made him do that? Could Sasuke be of the same mindset? All summer he had been acting stranger than usual.

Maybe I could ask Neji if he had heard from Sasuke, as I was assuming he would be there this morning.

I jogged right past his house and I had to stop. The yard was overgrown with weeds and shrubs; the trees were dying it looked like, but the "for sale" sign was missing.

It had been for sale for a long time. No one wanted to move in, not if they knew what happened there. Sasuke had been moved to live with a family member.

But what really caught my attention was a white moving van parked in the crumbling driveway and the fact that a single light was on in the living room. There was a man with long black hair inspecting the place.

I could see him clearly through the windows because of the lack of blinds or curtains. If I could see him, then you know he could see me.

Sure enough, he spotted me and waved. I got chills from his smile. Even from where I was standing, I could see his vibrant green eyes.

To my horror, he walked outside, heading for me. I knew my mouth was hanging open, but if you saw this man, it would on you too.

"Good morning," he said, bowing to me, his long black locks falling around him. It surprised the hell out of me.

"Good morning," I told him as well, bowing in response, but never taking my eyes off him.

"I couldn't help but notice that you were staring at the house with a certain fondness. No doubt you know more about this neighborhood than I do," he said.

In the bright morning light, his skin was a pale as death warmed over. He was a bit taller than me, the ebony hair falling to around some place past his shoulders and before his waist. It had a strange kind of purple tint to it, just like the spaces around his eyes.

"Well I used to know the family that lived there," I confessed. I was feeling very very uncomfortable around this man. Something about him just set me at unease.

"Oh, the Uchiha murders happened around here didn't they?"

"Yes, in that house. I am friends with their son though he doesn't live there."

"I see. Well, I heard the neighborhood is very nice regardless."

"Yes, it is." He looked me up and down, his eyes resting on my head. At least it was my head and not another part of my anatomy. The pink hair, once again.

"Do you live around here then?" God this was just too weird. This man was too weird. All of this was too strange for this early in the morning.

"Yes, not so far away. I'm really sorry, but I must be going. I have somewhere I need to be. Good luck with your move." I tried to smile but I know it came out as more of a grimace.

"Thank you," he smiled. It was enough for me and I took off jogging again. I wasn't so far from Hinata's now. I guessed later I would just see if Naruto would drive me home, to avoid taking a longer way or going by the Uchiha house again.

My breathing wasn't too labored from being out of practice. I stopped about a block before her house so I could fix my appearance some.

I wasn't completely without manners this morning. I switched off my music and turned the corner. There were already people on her lawn. I guessed it was Kurenai's family at first.

Some of them had to be. But upon arriving closer, I saw a cigarette I recognized from two days a week at night.

Professor Asuma and his father were here too. I got nervous. He would now be able to see what I looked like outside of class, not that going on what constituted as a date with Kakashi a day or two before didn't count or anything.

"Sakura, glad to see you here," Kurenai smiled as I met her at the end of the walkway on the lawn.

"No problem," I lied. Of course I lied. I wasn't going to tell her about my bed to shower to home adventure. It would have been rude of me.

"Is that one of my students?" Asuma asked as he noticed me, his face twisting in a smirk. He came up beside Kurenai, putting an arm around her waist.

"Yes, it is, the pink haired one that's always late." Well thanks to Kakashi, but I added that last part in my head.

"Good to see you here bright and early," he smiled anyway. That cigarette looked like it was going to fall out of his mouth.

I had to wonder if he kept it in during sex or not, then shook my head at the mental image that created. How disgusting of me right? That's right up there with thinking about your creation by your parents in the top three things of mental images you should never try.

"Hinata and Naruto are over there with Neji," Kurenai pointed. At least she got how awkward this was for me. Maybe.

"Thank you," I bowed. Ugh, did it again. Before I could do anything else awkward in front of one of my teachers, I headed over to them.

"Good morning Sakura," Hinata smiled. They had set up some chairs around the lawn, which I guess the guys had gathered for us to sit in.

"Good morning Hinata. Thank you for inviting me," I told her, taking the seat next to Neji. He looked probably about like I did, half awake and trying to be enthused about being there this early.

I would have said something to Naruto, but he was asleep, almost in her lap. It was almost cute, if I do say so myself, except for the drool coming out of Naruto's mouth.

"Nice to see you here," Neji smiled politely. A yawn was tugging at his lips. I envied his hair for as long as I could remember. It was so straight and perfect.

"You as well," I nodded. "How have you been?" Of course I was interested, but only on the surface; you know polite.

"Great," he said. "My business classes are well so far. They're hardly a challenge for me." There was that slightly haughty attitude that sometimes got him in trouble.

"That's nice to hear," I laughed. "Do you go to school with anyone else we know?"

"Yes, Shino and Kiba are around sometimes. I see Ino from time to time. None of them have the same classes I do, well except for Ten Ten. She does rather well," he smiled fondly. "And Sasuke is around the campus."

He was around?

"Sasuke is there?" I asked. He was so close?

"Yes, but he doesn't look good. His hair has gotten longer, his face is drawn and pale like he doesn't sleep, he doesn't hang out with anyone that I can tell. He won't let me get close to him either."

Poor Sasuke!

But I realized if he didn't want to let anyone in, then we wouldn't be able to help him. He was all the way on the other side of town too. But I hated to leave it unresolved.

"I am sorry to hear that," I said. "Is there anything we can do?"

"Not that I know of. I'll keep an eye on him though, until something arises."

"Poor Sasuke," Hinata whispered. We were all silent for a few minutes.

"What about everyone else? How are they?" Neji quietly explained.

Shino was doing something with computers, as best I could understand, well ultimately it had to do with bugs, his first love.

Kiba was going to be a veterinarian's assistant, well technician I think, but it suited him well with his love and his family's love for dogs. His mother was something of a vet after all with all the canines they had running around.

Ten Ten was in business as well, at least for now. Ino, well Ino was Ino and changing her mind all the time, though Neji mentioned Genma.

What made things so different for them than for me was they were at a technical college. I got the idea things were a little more lax, well maybe not lax but…hmm how did I describe that. Conducted in another manner?

Is that what made it okay for Ino and Genma? I had to wonder, but I didn't voice this.

Neji asked about everyone at our school and I told him as much as I knew. He snorted at Rock Lee, saying it was bound to happen, but he was pleased. I guessed he was right as he was closer to Lee than most of us.

I tried to stay away from me and Kakashi, but Neji had evidently talked to Ino and asked about it. Damn her big mouth sometimes.

The call of "lunch" from Asuma saved me though. I wanted to thank him somehow; maybe next class I would be on time? I would try.

"So what is all this for?" I asked Hinata, once the two of us were a little more alone.

"This is for Kurenai's family to meet Asuma's," she blushed. "Kind of like a courtship thing."

"Oh, that's sweet," I smiled. I could see Asuma's father speaking with what looked like Kurenai's mother?

Already they were this close?

Maybe this was why Kurenai had never had a steady boyfriend was they had to meet her family and such long before anything happened.

Maybe if things worked out for Hinata, she would have a nice guy in her life, well besides Naruto of course. I meant someone more like a father figure.

I was even luckier after lunch that Neji forgot about the previous conversation as I didn't feel I should explain to yet another person about my crush on my English professor.

In fact, after lunch we watched Asuma and his father play Shogi for a while. Asuma was loosing.

"I want to play a game," Naruto whined, leaning against Hinata's shoulder.

"A game sounds nice," Neji agreed. Hinata looked to me for guidance but I was as lost as she was.

"What kind of game?" she asked quietly. Naruto put his finger to his lips, thinking.

"Truth or dare," he grinned maliciously; as if he didn't know everything about me.

"What?" I asked, "That's so juvenile."

"Oh really Sakura? Is that because you're afraid we'll find out exactly what you've been up to you naughty girl?"

"Alright fine! You're on!" I shouted, putting my fist near his face. Neji and Hinata just stared at us. This had happened all through high school.

"You're first Sakura," he glared. "Truth or dare?"

Well, when presented with a question like that, it is hard to choose and quickly. On one hand you have to bare your soul to whoever is playing the game that sometimes includes crushes and family, except this time. On the other hand, you could take a dare that would ruin your reputation forever, if not all eternity.

I know this probably seemed like a childish game for us to play, but we were still kind of children then. Well Naruto was a lot closer sometimes than the rest of us. It showed we weren't quite as mature as everyone made us out to be.

Biting my lip I answered: "Truth."

This is one of the few times in my life I swear to whatever deity may be up there that Naruto is possessed by something like a demon. He got this rather malicious look in his eyes, which I swear were turning red, as he began to think up a question.

"I have it. Have you ever thought about sleeping with Professor Kakashi?" While it wasn't a terrible question, it was dead on. Of course I had thought about sleeping with him. How many times now? I had even imagined it and well…you know.

"Yes," I said. "But that's all you get. Now it's my turn. Naruto, truth or dare?" He answered "truth" of course. Bad idea with me. "Have you ever thought of Kurenai while masturbating?" Fair is fair.

The demonic look on his features subsided and he paled considerably. Without looking at any of us, he answered "yes." Heh, I knew it.

After that, the game didn't get as personal. Naruto knew way better than to do that again.

"Alright Sakura, truth or dare?" Neji asked, smirk in place. Deciding that any dare was better than my personal life I answered accordingly:

"Dare."

"Good choice. I dare you to go and kiss Professor Sarutobi," Neji said. We had of course told him which one was which.

"Okay."

"But, let me finish," he said, holding up a hand.

"There's more?"

"Of course. You wouldn't think I would make it that easy would you? You have to kiss him on the lips."

Neji, you are a sick sick man.

"What?"

"Yes, you have to. Unless you want to answer my question."

I remembered when we were younger that Neji used to make me cry. Well, not just me, but a lot of people. It wasn't that he was a bully or anything, as Neji is very nice, it was just that he sure knew how to nail you when you were already pinned between a rock and an awkward place.

"Well I…"

"Wanting to change your mind?" He crossed his arms. He was challenging me. He didn't think I would do the dare.

I will admit that I was actually quite afraid. While I didn't have Asuma's father for History, he was still a professor and he wasn't Kakashi. He was old enough to probably be my grandfather too.

"No. I'll do it." I stood up out of the chair, my legs feeling wobbly like a newborn colts. I tried to straighten my spine, to not show the fear that was quickly consuming me. Ugh, why was I playing this game again? I wondered if I should have shown fear once and taken his question.

The adults were all sitting around a picnic table, laughing and drinking, as I slowly approached them. I could see him seated at the end of the table; he was smoking a pipe and listening to the rest speak.

I glanced behind me to see Hinata looking faint while Neji was grinning like the cat that finally ate the old lady's canary and Naruto donning a similar expression. I grinned myself, if only to mask my complete lack of confidence.

Avoiding as many of the adults as I could, I came to stand right beside him. No one else had really noticed. He turned to look at me, taking the pipe from his mouth.

"Yes?" It was now or never. Trying not to bite my lip, I leaned in and planted a chaste, millisecond kiss on his old lips before sprinting back to the others.

I almost collapsed in my chair.

"I hate you," I told them. I didn't mean it, but it was the first thing on my mind. Naruto was now laughing so hard I thought he was going to fall right out of his chair.

I didn't dare turn around to look at Professor Sarutobi; my face was burning as I held my hands over the color.

"Neji, that wasn't taking it too far?" Hinata asked.

"No. Asking her to have sex with him would be taking it too far." Well, there went Hinata. She fainted but luckily Naruto caught her or else she would have been face first on the ground.

"Hinata, come on," he said, trying to revive her.

"Maybe I took it too far?"

"You think?" Naruto asked as Hinata came around. She had become stronger at least, since the last time I could readily remember her fainting was the second day of school. College was at least helping some. Kurenai knew what she was doing sending her.

"Just what is going on over here?" we heard someone ask. Naruto looked pale. The rest of us turned to see Professor Sarutobi standing there, smiling and holding his pipe.

"N-nothing really," Hinata blushed. "Just a game."

"Oh? Something like truth or dare?" he asked, his eyes pausing on each one of us. I wasn't going to answer.

"Yes," Naruto said. "It was my idea."

"Ah, I see. I used to play that as hard as that is to picture. I'm going to assume that is what the kiss was for?" he grinned.

"That was my idea," Neji nodded.

"Well, that's fine. I don't always get attention from pretty girls. Just wanted to make sure is all." He nodded and walked off.

I should have just stayed in the bed this morning. But this was nothing compared to what is going to happen. I left the party not long after that, making Naruto run me home.

X

I arrived at Biology earlier than Hiro for once. I really wished I could avoid class, as I knew he was going to be really excited about the dance. Not that I wasn't of course, just that I didn't really want to go with him.

"Good morning Sakura," he smiled as he joined me at the table.

"Good morning Hiro," I tried to smile back.

"Could I ask you something?"

"Sure," I nodded.

"Would you…um..go out to lunch with me after this class? I would have you back at the school before too long." Oh no, just to make my day worse huh?

But I found myself answering "yes." I sometimes felt as if I had two people living inside me.

"Great!" I liked seeing the smile that lit up his face. He wasn't a bad kid at all, just Kakashi was…well Kakashi. I felt at ease with Kakashi. With Hiro, well he was nice and all, but I just didn't completely trust him.

"Alright Hiro, it's time for class and I'll be the only one raising my voice this morning," Tsunade said. She was wearing a satisfied smirk.

"Sorry ma'am."

X

"Do you mind if we walk? Today is so pretty," he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"That's fine," I nodded. I was glad he picked walking rather than driving. The only time I wanted to be in a car with him was possibly Friday night and I guessed we would discuss that over lunch today. I didn't mind riding the bus if I had to.

"It's this great little café I found a job at a summer or two ago. I hope you like it."

"I'm sure it's great," I smiled. Maybe this was what I didn't like about Hiro? He was so unconfident about everything, whereas Kakashi was confident and it was catching.

"If I can be so bold, it is. You are one of these girls that eats right? I mean a meal is more than water and a saltine?"

"Yes, Hiro, I eat," I laughed, though that made me a little ticky, even if I knew what he meant.

"Great. So how was your weekend?" Kuso! Ah, god this guy knew what to ask didn't he?

"Oh, it was fine. I spent some time with my mother and Hinata and her family. You know, took in the movies, studied." I clutched my books to my chest a little tighter as we turned the block. "What about you?"

"I spent the weekend studying at my grandmother's. My parents asked me to go and stay with her and help her out with things. I would have helped if my parents hadn't failed to realize she had gone on a cruise with her bingo boyfriend earlier." I couldn't help myself as I started laughing. That was pretty funny if you ask me.

"Oh, I see. Bingo boyfriend huh? Your grandmother likes to get out then?"

"Oh yeah. Next summer she is supposed to take me to Europe with her to backpack," he smiled, pushing up his glasses. "She used to live there with my grandfather a few years ago before he died."

"Oh, I understand. I'm sorry to hear about him."

"Thank you," he nodded. "We used to go to England and visit once a year until she moved here. But now she wants to go back, as part of a history lesson for me. She's where I got my love of history from."

"Well living in such a historical part of the world, I could see how."

"Totally. I've been to places like Big Ben and the tower of London, um, to different plays, gardens, near the palace, saw the queen once," he smiled.

Who knew that this quiet little history major was so informed and cultured? Why on earth would he be interested in someone who has lived in the same place her whole life?

"Wow Hiro, that is really interesting. How is it that you came here then?"

"Well, my grandparents were English, my mother is English and my father is Japanese, so I'm half English. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, that's very interesting," I smiled. Very strange as well.

"Thank you." We entered the café, which was only about two blocks away from the school. It was probably meant for students with the location. He helped me pick out something before we found seats.

When in doubt, let the guy continue speaking. Getting a guy on the subject of himself is one of the greatest things ever on a date. Unless that guy is smarter than you take him for and forces the conversation back on you. Damnit Hiro, you had to be smart for your age.

"But what about you? I've spent all this time talking about myself."

"Oh me? I haven't been anywhere exciting. I've never even left the country," I laughed. "Going to the city is a big deal for me," I joked. "Come on, tell me more about your adventures."

Well of course he did. I ate lunch and listened to his stories with half an ear. I really wished I was back in Kakashi's office, watching him read his orange books or grade papers or something.

At least with Kakashi I could sort of relate. Not that lunch wasn't nice; it was very nice, the food was great and Hiro wasn't too annoying, but I wished the whole time I had Kakashi with me.

"I guess I better get you back to the school. I need to get you back to the school. You have another class right?"

"Yeah, English with Kakashi." I watched Hiro's jaw drop. I had forgotten to add the Professor part.

"Wow, so informal with him. You're his assistant right?"

"Yeah, I just had a brain slip there."

"Oh, that's okay. I do the same with Jiraiya," Hiro mentioned casually. "Though I think everyone does since he doesn't like being called Professor."

Hiro was an assistant for Jiraiya? So what's where he had been heading Friday. Now everything made sense. . I merely nodded.

He walked me back up to the school, deciding that he would just come to pick me up Friday night, so that way he could meet my parents and that I would arrive free of bus fumes and dirty old men grabbing me. I gave him my address, against my better judgment.

"I can't wait Sakura, really," he smiled as he left me at the entrance to the school.

"Me either," I nodded, pretending to be excited.

"I'll see you later!" he waved. I waved back as I headed back into the school. It was still plenty of time before class. I had to see Kakashi. I had to tell someone how I was feeling.

I walked down the maze of teacher's offices as I looked for his. As usual, his door was wide open and he was behind the desk, reading.

"Come on in Sakura," he said brightly, looking up at me. "What's up? I was wondering where my assistant was."

"I just got back from a lunch date with Hiro," I sighed. It wasn't the wistful love sigh, so Kakashi started laughing.

"Oh?"

"Well, it wasn't quite as bad as I was thinking it was going to be, but…it strengthened my feelings against him."

"Ah, I see," he said, still chuckling. I still couldn't look him directly in the eye. "I guess that would be Jiraiya's fault though. He took him on as an assistant last week."

"I could tell. He's kind of forward now." Kakashi nodded in agreement.

"The all important dance is this Friday."

"Yes, it is. I can't wait for it to be over with already. Just so maybe all this with Hiro will end." Kakashi nodded. I looked around his office as usual, noting how it didn't reflect his home at all as far as personal tastes go.

My eyes caught something red though, on his calendar on the 15th.

"What's this?" I asked, pointing. He looked up from his book, which was shut. He wasn't reading it; he was staring off into space, lost in his own thoughts.

"Oh that? It's not important."

"What do you mean? It's circled in red. It has to be important," I argued. It looked like someone had used his grading pen to do it.

"Nope, it's not."

"Kakashi, I will take your mask off if you don't tell me."

"Oh no, don't do that," he said sarcastically.

"Then I will tickle your feet."

"Hey now, alright."

"So what is it then?"

"Well it's actually…" a little bit of blush appeared on his cheeks, which was so adorable, as he answered "my birthday."

"Your birthday?" I smiled. He nodded, the blush fading. "That's so cute! Are you going to do anything?" I asked.

"Well, I wasn't planning on it. Are you offering?"

"If I offered, would you?"

"From my favorite student? Yes."

"Okay then, we'll think of something to do. Maybe a small party?"

"I would like that very much."

"Great then. It's settled."

"What's settled?" We both looked to see Jiraiya standing in the doorway, his arms crossed and a smirk on his lips.

"Nothing really," Kakashi said.

"I know you better than that Hatake. If you have something planned, then I want in on it."

"Well, we weren't going to tell you but there is this new movie coming out then for mature audiences only. We were going to meet at the theater at twelve."

"Then count me in. I'll be there. Gonna go mark the calendar now." He disappeared from the doorway.

"I hate to do things like that to him, but well…it's fun," Kakashi shrugged.

"Well, that's just fine until he figures it out."

"The party will be in full swing before then anyway."

As usual, I stayed in his office until time to go to class. He was on time again, but I think only because of me.

But it was the snotty stares and glares from my classmates that I couldn't ignore. The girls in the room were all giving me the evil eye. I gulped and tried to take my seat. They looked nastier than usual today.

I was glad to turn my back on their ugly glares and snide comments as I tried to focus on class. It was none of their business anyway.

I don't think Kakashi noticed them though.

After class, well more like writing an essay for an hour, I was getting ready to meet Kakashi at his office.

The girls walked by me, each trying to hit me in the shoulder or say something rude as they passed. Was this going to happen all the time or were they feeling particularly bitchy today?

"We'll see you tomorrow," Naruto said as he and Hinata walked out last, leaving me and Kakashi. He had noticed this time.

"Are you okay?" he asked before we left for his office.

"Yes, I'm fine." He left it at that. I was glad; I was going to try and not worry about it myself.

X

The rest of the week passed quite dully. Of course Kakashi and I hung out as much as we could, I hung around Naruto and Hinata, and Hiro hung around me.

But you could tell the whole school was holding its breath for Friday night.

Maybe that was why Wednesday the girls were still giving me the hard looks and the less than savory comments? Don't hold your breath.

Kakashi and I didn't get as physical this week as we did last week, but that was fine. He didn't have to. He knew where my attention was focused.

I prayed that my period would end before Friday and lucky for me, it did. I didn't want it getting in the way of my fun Friday night.

This week, he didn't even keep me on Friday. He said I needed that time to go home and get ready. I smiled and told him he would be really surprised.

Not just him, but everyone that had never seen me dress up.

Shit, I forgot to tell Hiro that my parents wouldn't be home. Against my better judgment, I called his phone. I would need to ride with Hinata and Naruto as I didn't want him coming to my house alone.

"Hey Sakura," he said, I could hear him smiling.

"Hey Hiro. There has been a slight change in plans. I'm going to have to ride with Hinata and Naruto to the dance since I am staying with Hinata this weekend while my parents were away." I had forgotten and told them yesterday that I would be going with them when Naruto asked.

"Oh okay. That's fine. I'll just meet you outside the dance okay?"

"Okay, thanks for understanding." We shared goodbyes as I got my things together when Kurenai was supposed to come and pick me up on her lunch break. Well, I wasn't sure if it was going to be her. She had told Naruto to tell me that someone would pick me up.

I would be coming back home after the dance to work on the house a bit. I was going to invite Kakashi over with Naruto and Hinata tomorrow.

A horn blew as I grabbed my things.

I locked the door and ran down the pathway to the waiting car. It wasn't one that I recognized but the familiar smoke coming from the driver's side window was enough to convince me.

"Hey, there's that late student," Asuma said. Kurenai had sent Asuma? How close were they? Was the relationship going on longer than I realized?

"You're on time today," Naruto said from the back seat.

"Yes I am," I smiled. "Thank you for coming to pick me up."

"No trouble, you're right on the way." He pulled off, keeping the cigarette outside the car, much to my relief. I hated the smell and I didn't want it on my clothing for tonight.

"So where is Kurenai?" I asked, not wanting to be rude.

"She wasn't able to leave right away, but she should be along. Why? This too weird?" he laughed.

"Only a little. I think I've been seeing more of you outside of school than I have inside."

"Well the same could be said for you." I blushed slightly, knowing it was true. "But no matter. I used to go to school with Kurenai a long time ago. We sort of lost touch," he explained. I guess maybe he read my thoughts.

"Oh I see."

"Yeah, sorry if that freaked you out or anything. Kurenai wouldn't do something like that. Besides, I'm your math professor anyway. Just because you have the dance tonight, doesn't mean you can skip on my next test or the homework," he joked.

"I won't. But I don't know about Naruto."

"Hey, at least I'm on time."

"Fine, you have me there," I sighed, rolling my eyes.

Hinata greeted us as we pulled up. It looked like she had attempted to curl her hair, but rollers were falling out all over the place.

"Hey Sakura," she smiled. "Could you help me?" she blushed as she gestured to her hair.

"Yes, of course." I had thought about curling mine as well. Hinata's was a long longer and I could see how it would give her so much trouble. "Come on."

We disappeared inside as Asuma and Naruto stayed in the living room. We had hours before we had to leave.

I helped Hinata pull her hair up into the hot rollers, using ample amounts of hair spray. She helped me curl my hair with the curling iron, only burning me once as I was stupid enough to move and reach for a bottle of gel.

She had done loose curls all over my head, with careful concentration to my bangs. I had to admit that it looked awesome and that I should fix it more often.

"Thanks Hinata, it looks beautiful."

"Yes, it looks wonderful," Kurenai smiled from the doorway. She was still wearing parts of her suit from work.

"T-thank you," she stuttered only a little.

"You should both dress up more often," Asuma said from behind her.

"Get out!" we all shouted as we were in the under parts for our dresses.

"Fine fine," he surrendered to Kurenai's light punches.

"Come on, I'll help you with your make up and you can fill me in on all the gossip," she laughed as she stood behind both us at the dresser.

She should have been a hair and makeup stylist for the stars or something. She was so good at it.

In no time, she had Hinata's curls flowing mostly down her back, with a 99.9 percent guarantee of staying up the whole night, with the rest pulled up and overlapping. She helped her with her eyeliner and mascara first, before picking out lavender eye shadow to finish it off.

It matched well with Hinata's dress. It was a lavender color as well, with black overlapping in a brocade pattern. The whole thing came to mid-calf; it puffed at her waist some from the netting material at the silk bodice.

The bodice hugged her every curve, even pushing her breasts up some with the shoulder straps holding it on. She had picked out some large holed fishnet gloves to wear with it.

"Hinata, you're so cute!" I smiled. She blushed.

"Well Sakura, the time has come," Kurenai told me as she spun me around to the mirror. "You're next." She did the same thing with me as she did Hinata, only my eye shadow was this brilliant shade of hot pink.

My dress was a strapless number of a hot pink kind of silk material with black trim and netting around the bottom. It was made to look like it was from the 50s and I felt kind of retro in it myself.

I spun around for them. Not even at prom had I looked this good.

"Wow, both of you girls look so grown up," Kurenai smiled. She looked a little like she was going to cry as she hugged both of us. While I wished my own mother could have seen me, this was actually quite nice. "Come on, we have to get pictures and then send you on your way."

We followed her into the living room where Naruto was lounging on the couch with Asuma as they flipped through the channels.

"Gentlemen, I present the ladies of the evening." The flipped off the T.V and turned to look at us. Naruto was wearing his tux from last year.

You can guess the reactions. Basically, they were stunned.

"Is that my girlfriend?" Naruto asked as he looked at Hinata. She had grown since prom and didn't look quite the same. The girl nodded, blushing.

"Wow Kurenai, they're going to be a couple of heartbreakers," Asuma said as he inspected us. "Not that pinky here isn't already from talk around the staff room." I blushed.

"Knock it off. Come on everyone, get in the picture. We have to get pictures since Sakura's mom isn't here."

I had to admit that I felt like a model. We got a group picture with the self timer, which would include Asuma and Kurenai. We all looked like family; then the couple, then me, then me with Naruto and Hinata, etc.

Kurenai and Asuma were chaperones basically, with her as his date. I threw all my things in the car since they were going to drop me off at home, despite the fact I was invited to stay.

I was so nervous as we drove over to the school. I was going to turn a lot of heads tonight.

Asuma parked not too far away and we began to walk toward the gym. I gulped and wrung my hands as the front of the dance came into view.

There was Hiro and not too far behind him in the shadows of the building was Kakakshi. They were both looking dead at me. Hiro's jaw was slack and I could just imagine Kakashi's face under the mask.

This was it. The first part of no turning back as Hiro walked forward to escort me in.

X

**Author's End Note: **Please please please don't kill me for not getting around to the dance this chapter either. But she's going in! That's got to count for something yes? I hope, pray, chant, and such. Like it? Love it? Hate it? Mistakes? Review.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: **Alright, took me long enough and I've added stories and finished stories before I got around to finally putting up chapter 10 of this one. I am terribly sorry for it taking so long, but I was scared I would screw it up or something, I may still have. So, I'm hoping and keeping my fingers crossed that I haven't.

About this chapter in particular: We see, Choji, Shikamaru, Guy and Lee, etc. Also, you're probably all going to hate Hiro after this, I really want to you of course, so that she can end up with Kakashi, er sorta. This chapter is only the dance, the whole thing. Some surprises and such. I'm keeping this note rather short.

So hope you enjoy and that I haven't done anything wrong. Also thank you for all the feedback still! I really love it!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto or the characters. Don't own the title of the story. No money is ever made from this.

* * *

She's Leaving Home

Chapter 10

This was another one of those defining moments in life, the ones that can be viewed later as 'oh wow, you know that really predicted how things were going to swing.'

"Oh wow Sakura," Hiro breathed as he headed for me. His eyes were alight with a fire I had never seen before, though the lights from the dance may have had something to do with the harsh reflection on his glasses.

I merely stood there and smiled, like the obedient date and student I was supposed to be. He was wearing the pants after all. Hiro had dressed in a black tux with the ruffled white shirt and black silk bowtie. He was even rocking a cummerbund, black silk as well, with shiny leather shoes.

He had styled his wavy, brown locks somewhat, so that at least they didn't hang over his black-rimmed glasses so much. I hated to admit it, but he looked nice, very distinguished. He was holding something in his hands that kind of looked like a dove in the dark.

Hiro the magician. It took all my will power and a bit of biting my lip not to laugh at the mental image. As he got closer, I realized sadly that it was a corsage.

"Sakura, you look amazing!" he smiled widely as he took my hand, planting a gentle kiss on the lotion-covered and scented flesh. "Let me look at you." He spun me around slowly, little a little doll or a ballerina.

That was me, Sakura Haruno, the pretend girl. The girl who wanted to be a real woman, like a fucked up version of Pinocchio. The pretender. The first class liar.

Poor naive little Hiro couldn't distinguish my real smile from my fake, read my body language enough to see that he wasn't the right one. I was the princess who had the wrong prince for the ball.

"Thank you," I told him, but I didn't blush. He was blocking my view of Kakashi. I tried to look around him without seeming to be rude, just for a glimpse of the professor, but I couldn't see.

"Really, I just never expected you to come here looking like this, it's nice," Hiro gushed. I giggled. That was the only reaction I could come to and be nice. I mean, he had kind of insulted me with that sentence. "Shall we go in then?" he asked, offering his arm, finally.

"Yes, I nodded. I took hold, feeling more I was headed for my execution that I was just a simple dance. But it wasn't just a simple dance either. I should have figured out by now that nothing in life was simple at all.

Hiro's arm was warm as we approached the gym doors. This was really it. No fooling around this time.

The gym was rather dark, thumping music, and decorations; the whole nine yards.

There was a pulsing disco ball like structure from the center of the floor; I would guess where the huge center score board was. It almost seemed to have a life on its own. Couples were visible in flashes of white, blue, magenta, and yellow.

All the couples were dressed like we were, very formal in many shades of black, grey, pink, blue, etc. Many varieties of dancing were taking place, everything from vintage to modern, shoes clacking across the floor, girls dancing in panty hose.

It wasn't like going to the club at all.

I could see the refreshment table from where I was standing in the doorway with Hiro. He was chattering away but I was hardly listening. I was dying to know where Kakashi was. I wanted to see how he looked fully, as well as everyone else.

I couldn't miss Choji waving at me from beside the refreshments, Shikamaru looking disinterested in everything. I waved back gently.

"Friends of yours?" Hiro asked.

"Yeah, from high school," I said. Maybe later when I had pried Hiro off of me, I would go and speak to them. I had a feeling he would be very hard to get away from.

"Oh, that's nice," he smiled. It was beginning to irritate me, just a little anyway. We walked a little further in. I was hoping that Rock Lee wouldn't recognize me and want a dance. "Well, would you like to dance first or get some punch?"

"Well…" I could steal a conversation with Shikamaru and Choji before I would be forced out on the floor and he did ask me. "Punch first if you don't mind." Of course, why would I pick dancing first?

"That's fine." We headed around the varying floor, to avoid being trampled or pushed over. Hiro held onto me the whole time.

I couldn't help but notice that Hiro kept gazing across the floor at Professor Tsunade. She kept winking from where she was speaking with Jiraiya, or more like looking bored and slightly irritated with him.

I had to wonder if she set this whole thing up after speaking with Kakashi that one day in the conversation I had overheard. Was my own professor and advisor working against me?

Hiro grabbed two of the small plastic cups, you know the kind that look like glass but are even more fragile? I probably could have crushed it with my fist. I tried hard not to even crack it.

"Hey Sakura," Choji smiled as he moved around the table to come and see me. "You look great!"

"Thank you Choji, so do you," I smiled. Choji did look wonderful. He was wearing a red tux with the ruffled stark white top. He had the biggest smile on his face. Hiro wasn't saying anything but sipping on his punch. I hadn't even tried it yet. It was bright green.

"Who is this?" he nodded toward Hiro.

"I'm Hiro, her escort for the night." He was polite, but I watched a twitch at the corner of his mouth. That bothered me. Was he already jealous?

"Oh, I think I've seen you around before. Nice to meet you." Choji has the biggest heart and really deserves a girl that will love him. I wanted to set him up with someone sometime.

"You too," he nodded. Shikamaru was speaking with someone I didn't recognize.

"Would you mind if I danced with her?" Choji asked.

"Oh, that would be fine. Go right ahead," Hiro surrendered. It was the first dance of probably many that night.

Choji took my hand in his larger one, leading me away from Hiro and onto the crowded floor. He put an arm around my waist, trying to keep the other students from knocking me over.

Choji looked like he might have been mean, just based on his size, but he was the gentlest person I knew out of any of my friends probably. He kept me close and protected and I was away from Hiro.

A slow song had kicked up, one I didn't recognize, which would happen the entire night. He stopped in a less crowded part of the floor, turning and placing his other large hand on my waist. He was so much taller than me so I had to settle for resting my hands on his shoulders.

We began to sway gently, him being careful not to step on my feet as we slowly turned in a circle. Choji was very polite with his hands, keeping them only on my waist, and only to dance. "You look very nice tonight Sakura, I'm sure you're going to break a heart or two," he laughed eventually.

"Thanks Choji, I think you might as well."

"You kind of remind me of this butterfly I saw the other day. "

"Well I am honored," I laughed. The song was coming to a close.

"Come on, I better get you back to your escort," he smiled. "Though he seems like he might be a jerk, but I'm sorry for saying that."

"It's okay Choji, I know what you mean. I'm wondering the same thing." Maybe it was just that Hiro was nervous. I tried to brush off his strange behavior as Choji led me back.

"Did you have fun?" he asked nicely.

"Yes, of course," I answered equally as polite. I was just ready to be rid of him. He was rubbing me the wrong way and we had only been here probably less than twenty minutes.

"Hey," I heard Shikamaru say quietly. I turned enough to see that he was standing beside the table, looking terribly bored and maybe a little irritated as usual.

"Hey Shikamaru, I didn't realize you were going to be here tonight."

"Yeah, mom nagged me enough to go and then she nagged my dad enough to volunteer as a chaperone. What a drag." He leaned against the table with his hands in his pockets.

"Oh come on Shikamaru, you'll have fun. Maybe Temari will show up and you'll have to run for your life on the dance floor."

"Too late," he nodded briefly. I could see spiky blond hair coming towards us. His mother must have arranged that as well. I got the idea that Temari was a woman after her own heart. Poor Shikamaru would have two troublesome women in his life if he wasn't careful.

"Oh Sakura, I wondered if you were going to be here," she smiled politely. She was kind of the jealous type.

"I was just wondering that about you as well." We were all being rather fake weren't we? "Good to see you," I smiled. It was rather nice I guess. She had dressed in a silky black dress that opened in a V down to her cleavage, the straps tying behind her neck, leaving her whole back exposed.

"You too. Come on Shikamaru, let's go dance." She grabbed the rather unenthused boy, practically dragging him out to the floor, and leaving Choji to fend for himself. Shikamaru shot a rather sad glance to us as he disappeared through the people.

"Well, I would say that was our cue for at least one dance," Hiro smiled.

"Okay," I nodded, trying not to panic. I wasn't panicking because I was excited to be dancing with him; it was because I was scared I would never be able to get away. I should have just said 'no.' We set our drinks down.

He took my arm in his, just as we had walked into the dance, as he led me through the people once more. He wasn't careful to make sure that I didn't bump into people, his arm had trouble remaining on my waist, and we had to stay in one of the most crowded parts.

The tempo of the music had picked back up. I still didn't recognize it, but at that volume, I would have been surprised if it was music at all. The couples around us were dancing pretty much a step or grind as it was the middle of the gym and no one was going to wade through the bodies to stop them.

Hiro smiled down at me as he pulled me against him quickly. My heeled feet nearly slipped on the floor but his hands and arms wound around me, pulling me as close as possible, trying to meld our bodies together. I just didn't fit against him like I did Kakashi.

We began to sort of sway to the music, more like Hiro tried to sway and grind at the same time, but it wasn't working out. He just wasn't very good at it and top of that, his hands refused to keep themselves in decent and acceptable places.

I mean, I wasn't being hypocritical, but at a dance the sorts of things he was doing were unacceptable and he was just making me uncomfortable. He kept that stupid grin on his face the whole time as well.

Probably half way through the first dance I wiped the smile off my face. He was like a high school boy, bumbling and over sexual. Kakashi knew what he was doing and just where and when to do it.

We stayed out there for a few songs.

I was feeling worn out and was craving to be against Kakashi once again. I wanted someone who knew exactly what they were doing, unlike Hiro. No wonder I never dated guys my own age. They were quite pathetic in some areas of development.

"You know Sakura," he whispered, probably thinking he was being as sexy as Kakashi or fooled like Jiraiya, "I would like to take you right now on the floor." I had never expected that from Hiro, never in a million years.

So those were his intentions? Did he get them from Jiraiya or had he sadly come up with them on his own. I began to feel extremely claustrophobic. "I could in fact," he continued, moving a hand down to lightly cup my rear end. God I wanted to just sock him right there on the floor. No one was allowed to do that but Kakashi.

"Hiro, I need to go for just a little while alright?" I asked. I smiled politely, hoping it would fool him enough into thinking I was coming back. Yeah, I would come back when hell froze over.

God he was a pervert. He was worse than Jiraiya; at least the professor knew his boundaries with me. Hiro just couldn't take a hint. My body language had said from probably the first song that I didn't want to be out there with him, dancing like that.

"Oh, okay, sure." Much to my relief he let go and I couldn't wade through the people fast enough. I was hoping that he would find someone on the floor, anyone, and just leave me alone.

If I wasn't careful tonight, I might just get myself raped. Hiro kind of fit the profile, you know, as 'the last guy you would ever expect to do it' one?

I was bumped into and nearly knocked to the floor numerous times, but none of that mattered. I had to get away from that weirdo. I had watched enough mystery and cop shows to know that sometimes the nice guys were actually the worst ones.

How many times had I heard, "He was the nicest guy, I just couldn't believe that he raped and murdered that girl,"? My point exactly. If I was feeling uncomfortable, then I needed to leave, no matter what had happened before hand.

I ended up on the far part of the gym, trying to fix my clothing again. I could see Naruto and Hinata dancing not so far away from me, but I felt terribly alone.

I should have just come alone and met Kakashi. I was certain that he was upset with me.

I mean, he had told me about it first, so that I wouldn't bring another guy. But then Hiro had seemed like one type of person and really turned out to be another. Honestly, I just wanted to stand there and cry.

"Hey there," I heard behind me. It was the voice I most wanted to hear.

"Kakashi," I turned around. He was standing there with his hands in the pockets of his tuxedo not three feet behind me. I paused for a moment before I threw my arms around him. He was safety.

His silver-grey hair was uncombed as usual, him never finding the effort to tame it and that was fine with me, his eye patch was in place along with the mask, but his tux was pure black, pressed with a crisp plain shirt, complete with a tie and polished black shoes. I had never seen him look so scrumptious.

"Hm?" He didn't hug me back right away, well partly because I had pinned his arms down, but soon enough his arms were back around me, holding me close.

"Kakashi, I am so sorry I came with Hiro. He was a big mistake," I said, trying to honestly not sob.

"It's okay Sakura," he said gently, touching my head. No one was paying any attention to us. "What happened?" I merely shook my head that I didn't want to talk about and he didn't pry. It wasn't important.

Without speaking, he led me over to where there were a few chairs so that I could finally get off my feet. I loved my heels, but god they could kill an arch.

"You're not mad?" I asked.

"You're being silly," he told me in that usual light-hearted tone. "I'm not mad."

"Good, because I don't think I could take you being mad with me." I leaned against his shoulder, allowing my weary head to rest on the top. We watched the floor move before us, the variances in styles and bodies.

"Would you like to dance Sakura?" He was the one I wanted to hear it from the most. My heart stopped for a beat or two, I swear on my life. I tried to answer, but no words came. I could have jumped for joy or squealed or something, but nothing. His one visible eye looked down at me, before it winked.

"Yes," I finally breathed out. He nodded, placing an arm around my waist. It just fit. He helped me up from the chair as we walked out near Hinata and Naruto. They were dancing in the most shadowed part of the whole gym, where the Technicolor lights didn't reach.

They hardly noticed us as Naruto leaned in to kiss Hinata very gently. I didn't feel unprotected like I had with Hiro. It was similar to when Choji had taken me out to dance, only this was more so, as I realized that I was quite attracted to my professor.

He spun me around slowly, like a ballerina, so that he could take in the full view of my outfit. It was okay when Kakashi did it. His large hand held my smaller in his as I turned before his one visible eye, before he pulled me back very slowly, his hands taking charge of my waist very confidently.

Kakashi knew what he was doing. His hands rested above my rear, being careful not to grip so much that he wrinkled the material. One of his hands moved enough to take my arm and lift it up to his neck as my other followed on its own.

I could feel the soft material of his mask before I played with some of his loose hair. He pulled our bodies together, resting his covered face on my shoulder. I gasp as mere inches separated his mouth from my neck.

I hardly noticed the music as he began to encourage and coax my body into swaying with his as we turned slow circles. The whole world didn't matter; in fact to be perfectly honest, the whole thing just melted away.

All that mattered was I finally got to have a very formal dance with Kakashi.

His face nuzzled my styled hair as he breathed softly in my ear, like always. "Have I told you that you look amazing tonight?" he asked. His voice was soft and if he hadn't been beside my ear, I never would have heard it. His arms moved so that they were completely encircling me now.

"N-no," I stuttered against his shoulder. He gently nuzzled my head to the side.

"You look amazing Sakura," he whispered, the material of his mask hovering just above the sensitive skin there. My heart was pounding and I felt nervous, but it was the healthy kind, like right before you know something electric is going to occur.

Maybe it was the darkness and rather secluded feel of that part of dance, maybe it was the music, maybe it was the heat between us, or the way we both looked, but in the next instant, his masked mouth was pressed to the skin of my neck.

I gave a soft gasp as I went limp and pliable in his strong arms. My stomach performed various kinds of flip flops as the blood began to rush through my veins. He began to move up to my jaw line.

"Kakashi," I gasped. He didn't let go and I didn't want him to.

"You smell so good," he breathed. He was still nuzzling me and our bodies were still pressed close. I had, of course, never felt anything like that.

The spot between my legs had begun to pulse a little, my fingers tangling deeper into his hair. Who cared what the music had changed to?

But since Kakashi was such a tease, he released me to spin once more like he had when we first started dancing before bringing me back.

He held me against him, staring down at me as we continued dancing like before. It was just so perfect. Kakashi could have done anything to me on the floor right there and I wouldn't have protested.

"Beautiful," he said. I don't know what I was thinking when I reached my hands up to his face. He didn't try to move them away, but he did move us back a little. I cupped the sides, feeling the material on my hands as I looked into his one visible eye.

Taking a deep breath, I hooked my fingers under the material and began to pull it down. I was biting my lip, feeling scared and rather excited that he wasn't going to stop me.

The material slipped down off of his perfect nose, which I had already seen, further slipping down his smooth cheeks, and eventually over soft lips to pool around his chin.

He just stood before me, staring down, time seeming to pause.

He was beautiful.

His whole face was the color of cream, soft and pure, untouched by the weather or probably even time, except for the scar just under his left eye patch. Was that why he wore the mask? Was he would have women fainting over him? He honestly took my breath away.

"Sakura?" he asked. It was nice to be able to see his lips move.

"Hm?"

"Now you've seen my face," he shrugged, smiling. It was a slow and lazy smile, taking it's time to spread across his face. I was feeling faint.

"Kakashi, you're perfect," I said. He pulled the mask back up before anyone else could see him. I now had another secret I could keep. Hiro who?

"Take that to your grave," he chuckled. I wanted another look but we couldn't risk it.

"You're not mad I just did that?"

"No, it was understandable. I wanted you to see it." He pulled me close once more resting his head on my shoulder. Oh god, if you never let me live another moment after this, then I would have died a very pleased girl.

"Kakashi, really you're-why do you wear that thing?"

"That's one secret you'll never know." Any negative thought just faded away as he held me. I could have stayed like that forever; I wanted to, I really did, but as soon as the next song was over, I needed to get off those heels a bit.

He led me back over to the chairs when I quietly told him I needed a break, helping me sit as I pulled the shoes off to rub the tired muscles.

"Would you like some punch?"

"Sure," I smiled. I remembered I hadn't tried it earlier with Hiro. I hoped that he had found someone else and wasn't going to come and look for me, at least until I could figure things out.

"Well there is at that beautiful 'A' student of mine." I looked up to see Jiraiya standing there smiling.

"Yes?"

"Taking a break from all the guys?"

"You could say that," I told him evenly.

"Well, if you're not too busy, do you think you could cash in on that dance you owe me?"

"I guess." He gave me the sort of puppy-dog face. Even Jiraiya looked nice tonight. He too was wearing a nice tux with a sage green shirt underneath instead of the standard white. I was rather impressed. "Let me just get my shoes back on."

"You were resting? I can wait." He took the seat beside me.

"Are you sure?"

"I wouldn't do that to a lady." He crossed his arms. "So I thought you came here with Hiro?"

"Yeah I did, but I left him." I continued rubbing my feet, waiting on Kakashi to get back. I had learned to not protest with him about doing things.

"Oh? He told me that he was going to bring you and ask for some advice."

"Did you tell him to be a pervert?" I snipped.

"No, not at all," he said, shocked. He seemed genuine enough. "I merely told him to get you that corsage you're wearing," he pointed. "What did he do to earn your disdain and may I use it?"

"Jiraiya," I hissed. "No you can't use it. And basically he was a creep all night. He wanted to do me on the floor in the middle of the dance," I huffed. I felt a little better telling someone.

"He didn't get that from me. I wouldn't be that tasteless. I'll ask Tsunade about it later."

"Wait, Tsunade?"

"Yeah, she was in on this too. We were betting against each other."

"You mean my whole night was a bet?" I snapped, feeling like I was dealing with Naruto.

"No, not quite. Just that Tsunade bet that he would end up with you the entire night and make you forget about Kakashi over there and I bet that he wouldn't. Looks like I win."

I huffed and looked away from him. "Why should I dance with you?" I asked.

"It wasn't my fault," he scoffed. I didn't make any reply. "Sakura, you can't do this," he said. "Please?"

"Well fine, but after Kakashi gets back."

"I heard my name mentioned?" There he stood looking rather confused and holding two glasses of punch.

"It's nothing," I smiled as I patted the chair beside me. He sat down, handing me a glass and putting his arm around my shoulder.

"Kakashi, don't go getting yourself in trouble," Jiraiya warned. We were way in the back of the dance, away from prying eyes. That was great as far as I was concerned. I wanted as much distance between myself and everyone but Kakashi.

"I won't."

I slipped my shoes back on as soon as I was finished with my punch. It wasn't bad, tasted like some kind of lime Kool-Aid. My feet didn't hurt quite as bad now.

"Kakashi, do you mind if I borrow her for one dance?"

"As long as you bring her back." He pulled out one of his orange books. Poor thing, he must have been reading it some of the night.

"I will," he rolled his eyes as he helped me up and made me follow him a little ways away. He knew better than to put his hands anywhere else. I could see Kakashi glancing up at us a few times.

"Alright, no pervyness," I warned him.

"I'm not going to do anything. I have morals, sometimes." I kept my hands on his shoulders like I had with Choji. I had never had so many men dance with me in one night. I wondered just who else was going to show up.

"You know, this isn't half bad," I commented about halfway through the song.

"No, it's not. Plus, it makes for great Icha Icha material," he grinned. We had been speaking of idle things the whole time as neither one of us knew what the music was. I would have to brush up on current or mainstream sometime.

He spun me around an extra time and I realized that had happened multiple times tonight. Maybe I should have taken dance as well.

"Come on, time to get you back."

"That won't be necessary," someone interjected. I had to resist the urge to slap my forehead. Turning around, I found none other than Rock Lee and the strange Might Guy.

"What a night of youth!" Guy smiled as he urged young Lee forward. They were dressed exactly alike in bright green tuxes with orange trimmings. They were certainly eye catching but not really in an attractive way.

"Oh Guy, didn't know you were here," Jiraiya shrugged.

"I wouldn't miss this for all the pushups in the world! Have you seen my eternal rival around here?" I could see the wheels turning in Jiraiya's head, debating on whether to tell him honestly or not.

"I think he was near the punch," Jiraiya lied.

"Miss Sakura, I would cherish the honor of sharing one dance with you," Lee told me boldly, holding out his hand. Well, could I really deny him? It wouldn't have been right, especially since he probably hadn't danced with anyone all night. I really wanted to.

"Go on," Jiraiya urged with a wicked look on his face.

"Alright Lee, one dance." Oh god my feet hurt like hell! Never, ever, wear heels do a dance, at least for the whole night.

"Thank you Miss Sakura!" He grabbed me around the waist like everyone else. At least he had taken dance lessons of some kind. He didn't step on my feet or do anything he shouldn't, just that he was waltzing to pop music.

But even as odd as it was, it was kind of fun. I had never waltzed before and certainly never thought Lee would be the one to show me how to do it.

"Like this Miss Sakura-there you go!" He was going to be a gym teacher, I could tell. He continued to encourage me as the song continued. "That's lovely Miss Sakura." He was so serious about this whole thing that it was rather cute, but not the romantic cute.

"Thank you Lee," I smiled, feeling like I really was back in high school, which wasn't that long ago. I just felt older most of the time now. "I do need to rest some though." It wasn't a lie. My feet were aching more than they had in a long time.

"Alright Miss Sakura! I will lead you back to recharge and will come around soon!" He enthusiastically led me over to where Kakashi was sitting and reading quietly. "I will see you later!"

"Okay Lee." I collapsed in my chair, listening to Kakashi try not to laugh.

"And how did that go?" he chuckled.

"Jiraiya owes me so much right now." I took my shoes off once again.

"Oh?" He put his arm around my shoulders once more, pulling me to him. "That bad?"

"Not really, just strange," I shook my head. "But I should be okay in a little bit," I smiled brightly.

"Good, as the dance will be over before you know it."

"I know," I whined. He merely chuckled at me as he put away the book.

"Who knew you were so popular?" he joked.

"Ha, oh real funny Kakashi. I really hadn't planned for everyone to come up to me."

"I know, its okay." He leaned his head against mine. "But you're irresistible tonight." I blushed. His hand rested on my bare arm, lightly stroking the skin as we watched. I could see Hinata and Naruto dancing away. They were adorable.

I was glad to be rid of Hiro for at least tonight. But what would come of class on Monday and just what did Tsunade have to do with all of this?

"Kakashi, I really am sorry about Hiro," I told him, reaching down to hold his hand.

"Sakura, please don't worry about it." And no more was said about him. "Now come on, let's dance again."

"But what about my shoes?" How girly of me. I really amazed myself sometimes with it.

"Forget them," he chuckled as he pulled me into his arms and spun me around. The tempo was faster now as Kakashi showed me a few moves I had never seen before.

I laughed as I tried to master them. It was some type of swing steps he called 'shagging.' I blushed as I thought of the usual association with shagging.

I tried to mirror his steps, which was the whole point, but I felt that I was failing miserably. He of course insisted that I wasn't. It was something completely unexpected for him. I would have never pictured him doing those types of things until he was actually trying to show me.

"Well, with that dress you're wearing, we have to try some type of nearly dead dance," he told me as he spun me around, swinging me between his legs. It was so much fun. Being in the darkened corner, we didn't attract a lot of attention, even with all the things we were doing.

Of course we had to slow dance a few times more as well. Really, even if I never had another good day, those memories would burn forever. But he didn't try to kiss my neck again, sure he nuzzled it, but he didn't kiss it again, like he was trying to restrain himself, which made sense.

I wasn't sure if I could bite back the moan that had come with the first time he had done that.

But as these things go, they have to end at sometime. Eleven was the time that my carriage turned into a pumpkin once more.

"Sakura, are you ready to go?" Naruto asked. He and Hinata had joined me and Kakashi on the floor.

"Well no, but we all must huh?" I sighed wistfully.

"How about I walk you to your ride?" Kakashi asked.

"Thank you, I would like that." And I would like his protection against any contact from Hiro. He slipped an arm around my waist as we continued walking near the edges. Lee hadn't come back the rest of the night.

No sign of anyone.

We slipped through the crowds easily, taking time to walk to Asuma's car. I just didn't want him to leave. I didn't want the night to end. We beat everyone else there.

"Sakura, tonight was probably the best night I've had in a long time," he told me as he leaned against the car.

"Me too." Yeah this had to be classified from the other weekends. It was all too weird and sensual at the same time.

"And I can't wait for tomorrow." I nodded. He was going to be at my house again and this time I wouldn't be waking up from the first and hopefully last hangover of my life. He pulled me into his arms and just held me for a few minutes.

Before Hinata and Naruto or Asuma and Kurenai could get close enough to see what was going on, Kakashi placed a lingering kiss on my cheek as he released me. My face burned under the contact of the mask again.

They walked up to up a very stunned me standing next to a rather blushing Kakashi as well. I could see it just under his eyes. No one dared ask any questions. He helped me in the car and waved goodbye, but not before he whispered "See you tomorrow," in my ear.

X

**Author's End Note: **Like it? Love it? Mistakes? Review.


	11. Chapter 11

Finally I get done with chapter eleven of She's Leaving Home. I know it has been a few weeks and some of my other Naruto stories have been updated before this one. I apologize for the wait. This was a challenge to write at first for some reason. But thank you for all the support like reviews, alerts, and favs on this! I really appreciate them and trust me, they do help me write faster or else nothing would ever get done probably. I hope to hear from everyone after this.

Anyway, about this chapter this time around: I actually rather like it. Sorry if anyone is OOC as usual, keep in mind it is AU. Games, chocolate, teasing, etc. I really don't feel like giving it away or anything like I usually do. I felt that most of this was in reason and all, just hope that the sun and heat lately haven't fried my brain severely. The Mad Libs in the chapter, you will see them in italics, are ones I made using the site www dot madlibs dot org. Check it out, make them on your own and see what you come up with. I find them terribly addicting and hilarious, but that's just me probably.

So hope you like it. I hope to hear from you. Please feel free to check out my other stories in the Kakashi x Sakura section as well, like the recently updated Stand In, or some of my other pairings from the Naruto universe. I'm sort of all over the place with things lately. Also, the poll is still open for probably another week, so if you haven't voted at my profile for the next het Naruto one-shot, then please visit as I already have something in the works for the current winning couple, which even if they don't win will be written and put up eventually. Alright, enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or its character; the story title doesn't belong to me, it belongs to the Beatles, and the mad libs I guess aren't really mine they are borrowed.

* * *

She's Leaving Home

Chapter 11

All the way home, my mouth was shut, no matter who tried to get me to speak. Asuma asked me about Kakashi's strange and uncommon blushing face, not a word from me; Kurenai asked about Hiro and I was tempted to tell her that he should go to hell, but my mouth stayed shut. Naruto poked me about all the boys I temped on the floor, but I merely glared.

I didn't want to ruin what was probably the best night of my life with a lot of talking. I watched the brightly lit city reflected in the windows and my eyes fly past me, giving the night a rather enchanted feel. The only difference between me and Cinderella right now was the curfew.

I had never had an experience like that; never had that much attention been placed on my shoulders and I didn't crack. Kakashi, of course, had been the best dancer but Jiraiya came in second with Choji, Rock Lee in third, and Hiro in fourth if he were even on the scale.

Ugh, the whole thought of him made me shiver in disgust.

"Look Hinata, Sakura is having an episode," Naruto whispered.

"I heard that you fool," I hissed.

"No spilling of blood in my car," Asuma warned us. I wasn't going to kill him, well not yet, though if he continued to get on my last nerves I couldn't guarantee.

"Fine," we both sighed. They dropped me off promptly at my home around eleven thirty, maybe closer to twelve, given I wasn't sure how fast or slow Asuma's clock was. I grabbed my things and headed in the house to see if my mother had called. Probably, seeing how she wished she had been able to be home herself.

The red light on the answering machine was blinking in the unfathomable darkness of my home. I wished that I had thought to leave some sort of light on before I made my hasty departure, but alas I did not and had to suffer tripping over various aspects of the furniture before my hand slipped on a light switch.

It was like a beacon to what I was sure was around four or five messages from my mother asking about how the dance was. The second my nail tapped the button, it erupted into her booming voice.

"_Sakura, it's after five. Hope you're not at home still and that you're at least getting ready. Call me later. Your father needs to change the message."_

_"Sakura, hm it's around eight? I'm sure you're either Kurenai's or the dance. I was just going to call and tell you to call me whenever you got in on my cell phone. Love you." _

_"Honey, I know I keep calling but I am dying to know how the dance went. Your father is asleep already, even though it's after nine. It's been a long day. I'll still be up though."_

_"Sakura, just where are you? I forgot, these things last a long time and you're rather popular. It's around eleven now, still call though sweetheart. I want to know how it went." _

I hit the next button over to erase all of them as I grabbed the phone from the cradle and began to dial her number. The woman had given me life, but she was absolutely insane from time to time. The phone rang only half a time before it clicked.

"Sakura!"

"Hey mom," I smiled. I did miss her after all, though I felt kind of sorry for dad having to spend time with her all weekend.

"How did the dance go, tell me everything!" Heh, like that was going to happen.

I left out the details of Hiro and his bad behavior, Kakashi's name, and Jiraiya's name. But other than that, my mother got maybe half of it. And I used to be such an honest and innocent child.

"Sakura, I knew you would be a big hit," she told me, trying to stifle the yawn from her voice. "And I can't wait to see the pictures that Kurenai took."

"Yeah me either." We shared our 'goodbyes' and 'I love you' until she sleepily hung up. I was dying to have my heels off and to take the dress off. It was nearly one am now, not that I didn't stay up later or anything. I turned on lights in the house, one by one, trying to strip and put things away.

I would be terribly sore in the morning, but who cared? Tonight had been fun, no, awesome. It had been awesome. I dropped the dress onto my bed. I was going to sleep on the couch probably anyway.

I got a shower, trying to wash all of the hairspray out, though I figured I would curl it again for the party tomorrow. I still hadn't decorated or anything. I was going to start on those tonight, hanging things to dress the place up a little bit.

The pink strands came clean under my fingers and several shampoos, the makeup requiring a little more work. Kurenai sure knew how to put it on where it wouldn't come off. "Sex-proof," she joked with us, at least I had thought it was joking.

But I even liked wearing a little of it. Tonight I had felt like Sakura Haruno, the woman, not the high school girl. So far, five weeks into the semester, I hadn't done anything my high school self would have done.

To recap my college behavior, so far I had fallen for my hot English professor, I had gone to a club a few weekends in a row, I had taken of one alcoholic drink, I had been on a date to the movies, I had danced with several men in one night, I had misjudged character, I had kissed and been kissed all on the cheek, and I had sexual thoughts of Kakashi Hatake.

In high school, the worst thing I thought was the couple that chose my locker to make out on every day. How simple life was a few months ago.

God, Kakashi had looked so…just…amazing? Perfect? Sensual? Hot? Bare? Honest? God-like? My mind continued filling in adjectives until the water got cold. Compared to Hiro, Kakashi was god; he had saved me. Saved me from a terrible dance with Hiro.

I stepped out of the shower feeling a little more awake and ready for some late night television for sound while I started getting the place ready. I was too excited to really go to sleep right now. I grabbed an old shirt and a pair of pajama pants, dressed, and began to prepare for Kakashi.

I grabbed the pink and orange crepe paper from its hiding place along with the plates, cups, napkins, and table cloth, just so they would be out. The paper was delicate under my fingertips as I began to tape it up around the room.

I was careful with the tape so that it wouldn't rip or look strange and result in me doing it again. But it was a tedious process.

X

The television was still going when I woke up. I sleepily moved the crepe paper from my face as I sat up and tried to figure out what time it was. There was already sunlight filtering in through my mother's spotless windows and pristine curtains.

My hazy mind panicked for a moment, thinking that it was already around three o' clock, the time I had finally decided on, but then my sensible side kicked my irrational side's ass and I realized it was probably rather early.

I used the T.V. to figure out the time. Nine-thirty, good, plenty of time to get ready. Just breathe Sakura; you have time to get everything done before like four people arrive. Just take it easy and above all, don't panic.

I pulled myself from the couch, listening to things protest and pop into place; I was sore after all. Heh, I knew it would happen. I did a few stretches, trying to get everything to working order. This would need pain killer after all.

The crepe paper was only half way up, most of it still on the couch, on top of me to be precise. My tired and aching feet plodded the rest of my body into the kitchen. I probably looked a little like a zombie or something, which reminded me that Halloween wasn't all that far away.

I filled a pink plastic cup about halfway up with cool, clear water then searched around in my mother's medicine cabinet to find the much needed pain killers. I still had so much to do today; I 

couldn't let partying from the night before get me down. I just wished that Kakashi was the one giving them to me, because that would mean he was already at my house.

Two half blue and half red pills shook loose from the opening into my waiting hand once I had struggled a little with the child-proof cap. I hated swallowing pills; just because I was afraid they would get stuck in my throat.

I swallowed them one at a time with the aid of the water. I needed to probably eat something while I made a plan of action for getting started.

I was about halfway done decorating I decided as I chewed on a plain bagel slathered with low fat cream cheese. I was still planning on making the cake myself; I guessed a chocolate with of course chocolate icing. What guy didn't like chocolate? I was sure Mr. Hatake wasn't any different.

It was just going to be me, Naruto, Hinata, Kakashi, and Jiraiya, against my better judgment on the last part. For Kakashi's birthday present, I had gone to him for ideas. Of course, the first several were nothing that would look good in any type of print.

But his last one was excellent. Give him a copy of his newest book. That was really what I had been hoping for. That was why Jiraiya was coming. It was the only payment I could bring myself to allow. The old pervert; then he had wanted the dance as well.

The orange bound romance novel was wrapped in electric blue metallic wrapping paper, safe under my bed. That's where just about everything for the party had been so that my mother didn't catch on.

I tried to keep my fast paced heart under control, reminding myself that he had been in the house before, hell he had spent the drunken night with me. This was something normal to do, I thought, especially after all he had done for me.

It was just so exciting though. He was going to be coming to my house, all the same. My heart continued beating just a little faster all day, every time the thought crossed my mind, and that was often.

I finished my bagel and headed back to my living room, ready to duel with the paper once more. I left the television running so that I would have some sort of sound. The house felt too alone. The tape stuck to my fingers and I was left with bits of colored paper all over my skin.

But the room looked rather festive. I hoped Kakashi would like it and wouldn't find it childish. I mean, his opinion was the only one that mattered today.

I straightened up the house a little as well, making sure that the floor wasn't dirty or that I had left anything out. I couldn't have the trash stinking or my laundry out or something.

Then the cake was underway. I had bought a mix and a can of icing just for today, since I wasn't exactly a master chef with things of a sweeter nature. Okay, I sometimes had trouble with dinner, just depending how it was supposed to be made.

I checked the time as I stirred. One o'clock. Good, still had plenty of time. I stirred the thick, rich brown mixture, resisting the urge to spoon a finger-full of it to my mouth. It smelled excellent and I had followed all directions to perfection.

I poured the liquid into two round pans, so that I could ice the middle when it was finished, before I set them in the ready oven. The rush of warm air burned my face for a moment until it was closed around the cakes.

I checked the clock again. One ten. Good, still plenty of time. I decided to use the thirty minutes to an hour to go and change out of my pajamas into something a little more festive myself.

I found myself reaching for the same outfit I first wore to the club several weeks ago; black and pink plaid with the low-cut, clingy black top with the sleeves that were split up the elbow and the heel-less black boots. I slipped into the outfit comfortably, before going on to fix my hair and makeup.

He had seen it in the semi-darkness and neon light of the club that night, but now he would get to see it in the daytime as well. Plus he would be here to keep Jiraiya's hands off me, should the professor forget.

I wasn't worried that he would cancel or something as Kakashi was a man of his word. My cell phone never rang once to indicate that he wouldn't be here today. I grabbed the present out from under the bed, trying not to laugh at my compromising position, before I headed back to the kitchen to check on the cake.

It had only been thirty minutes so far. I stuck a knife in the middle of both of them but there was still mix on the blade. I would have to wait probably fifteen more minutes before I could even hope to check again and it was nearly two.

I just hoped that it would be somewhat finished before he got here.

I wrung my hands, hoping for something to do. I was just so nervous and excited all at once. This was a big day after all. I hoped tomorrow I would be able to do my homework at least. I could have worked on it then, but nerves and schoolwork never work.

Deciding that I should do something productive, I set the eating wares out and grabbed the store-bought punch from the refrigerator. I checked the clock again and decided I should check the cakes again.

Finally, the knife came back clean and I pulled them out, trying to avoid burning my face again. No wonder I never baked anything. It was such a pain, as Shikamaru called it. I set them on the cooling racks as I dug around for a nice looking plate.

My mother's floral china platter was best. It was white with blue roses and vibrant green leaves winding all around the edges. I washed it off; since I couldn't remember the last time it had been used, before I set the first layer of the cake on top.

It was still warm, but I hoped that would be okay. I started scoping the icing out of the container with a butter knife, spreading it over the porous surface. Lucky for me, it stayed on nicely and I didn't tear too much of the cake.

I was working on the second layer sides and the top when there was a knock at the front door. I was covered in chocolate icing.

"Give me a second!" I called. I figured it was Naruto and Hinata as I headed for the door. I opened it carefully so that I wouldn't get chocolate all over everything. My mother would have had a heart attack.

"Am I late?" Kakashi asked as he rubbed the back of his head, standing on my threshold.

"No, you're early," I laughed.

"Oh, I thought it was at two o'clock."

"No, that was three. But since you're here you can come in." I held the door open a little more for him. He stepped through and I couldn't help but notice how nice he looked, as usual. He was wearing a button-down white shirt with faded jeans and his usual face coverings.

"Well better early than never," he shrugged. His one visible eye took me in, chocolate and all.

"Yeah. Just make yourself comfortable in here if you want," I told him. "Or you can come to my mess of a kitchen."

"Hm with chocolate? Alright." He pulled the mask down, revealing that flawless face to me so that I could see that dashing smile instead of just imagining it. "You have something on your face." He reached out a finger to wipe something off my cheek.

"Yeah…" He licked the finger slowly, allowing me to see his pink tongue swirling around the digit. I could feel the juices between my legs again with that. He stuck the whole finger in his mouth, taking his time sucking all the sinfully sweet icing off before he smiled at me.

My stomach was performing several manners of flip flops. The man knew how to tease. My brain thrusted itself into overdrive with what else he could wrap that supple and gorgeous mouth around on my anatomy. Must have been reading too much romance this week or something. I had delved into my mother's secret collection out of curiosity.

"Delicious," he smiled. I blushed as he followed me in the kitchen. It was great that he felt comfortable enough with me to pull his mask down. I had earned enough of his trust. The feeling was wonderful and I felt rather privileged as I should have.

"Glad you think so. I didn't know if you liked it or not."

"I don't pass it up if I can." He sat down at the table as I washed my hands and began to finish.

"Me either," I smiled. We were quiet for a little while. The blush was still burning my cheeks. I kept sneaking glances at his bare face. It looked so soft even today. He was so young. "How old are you going to be Mr. Hatake?" I teased.

"Hmm, I'm not sure I should tell you that."

"Oh, come on. I do have chocolate and I'm not afraid to use it."

"Oh really?" He raised an eyebrow, smirking. I was reminded a little of Sasuke. He smirked in the same over confident manner, the one that said 'I know you but what you are going to do to change the situation?'

"Yes," I said as I scooped some up with my finger as I walked toward him. There was a little extra left over from my simple home-made cake. That smirk stayed in place. I tried to figure out if it would be okay if I sat on his lap to try and get the information out of him. He was at my house after all. Would that have been appropriate? But if I really thought about, nothing was appropriate and that just made it all the more desirable.

"Hm?" I moved in, taking a deep breath through my nostrils as I sat on his lap. I could be one hell of a tease when I put my mind to it. I mean, I had survived playing Truth or Dare with the Hyuuga genius after all. Kakashi may not even fall for it.

"Come on," I murmured as I held my finger temptingly in front of his face. I was feeling really flirty today, even though my heart was pounding through my ribcage. I was scared I would faint. How out of style for me, well a little. I had only dreamed of doing things seductive like this.

Instead of answering, his one visible eye stared up into mine as his fingers gripped my waist through the fabric to keep me from sliding off. He leaned in, taking my finger in his warm and supple mouth as he began to suck the chocolate off.

If my heart wasn't pounding before it was now. I merely stared down at him as that was the only thing I could do. He was sending shivers through my body because I had never been touched like that. He kept his teeth off the skin, using only his lips and tongue, swirling it around. He kept constant eye contact with me. I could feel the blush crawling up my features.

"Kakashi," I breathed, wondering again where else that mouth would feel wonderful on my body, like possibly the nipples that were growing prominent through my shirt? Kakashi Hatake was sucking my finger, seemed to be the only thing my brain would process.

"Thirty-two," he answered once he had let my finger go.

"Huh?" My mind felt foggy. I felt like I was on drugs or something. This had to be a dream right?

"I'm thirty-two today," he stated, his voice a little firmer, and quite possibly his lap as well?

"That's not old," I smiled, even though I knew I was putting ripe tomatoes to shame at the moment. He knew what that had done to me. His fingers were still on my waist and neither of us felt the need to look away. He smiled as well, that slow and lazy one I was growing very fond of.

Suddenly, there was heavy knocking at the door and I leapt up from Kakashi's grasp as we both began to blush. I figured that was probably Naruto and Hinata or possibly Jiraiya. My finger still tingled furiously from the warm cavern of his mouth and the feel of his tongue against the underside.

He smiled sadly as he tugged the mask back over his beautiful face. Yeah, he wasn't the only sad one.

I nodded as I headed to the door to greet the few guests. I was rather wishing that I had not invited anyone else and had just left it between us two. My stomach twisted with all the possibilities of what might happen. All he had done was suck my finger.

But what did that mean as far as our relationship went? Did that mean that he wanted more of me? Or was he just a tease? Did that mean possibly that he wanted a real relationship? My poor weekend mind was spinning.

Suck. The word coursed through me and between my legs.

"Jeeze Sakura, what took you so long?" Naruto asked as I opened the door for him and Hinata. She was holding a present in her shaking hands.

"I was busy you idiot," I told him, even though I was still smiling.

"Busy with Professor Kakashi?" he asked, nodding toward the silver-haired sin standing in the doorway between my living room and kitchen.

"I was finishing his cake," I covered. It wasn't a lie, not all the way, but that usually doesn't count for much. Kakashi offered no other version of the truth I had presented, so Naruto didn't even think otherwise.

"Whatever you say," he told me as he drug Hinata in. "Hey Professor Kakashi, happy birthday," Naruto told him almost sullenly as he headed for the couch. Men could be such babies sometimes.

"Thank you Naruto," Kakashi said back as he took my mother's chair again, that slightly muscular and streamlined body moving with all the fluidity of water. I couldn't help but watch the muscles of his back and shoulders move slightly with tightly coiled power.

I realized I was standing there like a grinning idiot with the door wide open. I shut it, trying to maintain my current composure. Maybe Jiraiya wouldn't show after all, maybe there really was something to distract him.

"Y-yes Professor Kakashi, I wish you a happy birthday," Hinata smiled as she sat down beside Naruto, handing over the package.

"Thank you as well Hinata," he nodded, just holding the wrapped object. Mine was still in the kitchen, where I had carelessly left it. I swiftly walked back in while Naruto tried to do something to encourage conversation. I shuttered to think what that could be.

The second the present was in my hand, the door was pounded on again. I should have just left it open. There was only one person left. Jiraiya.

"Is there anyone home?" a strong voice came through the door. I couldn't ignore the three sets of piercing gazes as I crossed through the living room again. I mouthed 'just deal with it' before I threw the door open.

"Yes, I'm home," I smiled as I threw open the door. Might as well let him make an entrance. Jiraiya stood there in all of his usual glory, beaming at us as he stepped over the threshold.

"Alright then, let's get this party started!"

"Who is this clown?" Naruto whispered less than inconspicuously to Hinata. Of course, inconspicuous and Naruto never belonged in the same sentence.

"What? Who is this punk?" Jiraiya whispered as he narrowed his eyes and looked at Naruto. I was sure that I heard Kakashi groan a bit, or it could have been in my head as I groaned a bit too. Oh boy, this was a bad idea wasn't it?

"Oh that's right, you two haven't met. Naruto, this is professor Jiraiya, Jiraiya, this is my friend Naruto," I sighed as he took the only other available seat, which just happened to be next to Naruto. As hostess, it was my job to stand and entertain of course.

"Hmm, he looks like a pervert," they glared in unison. I was right, two peas in a strange pod. I turned, pretending to cough so that I could hit myself in the very large forehead. Baka Sakura, Baka!

"Well, now that we have all been introduced, let's get this party underway. Since we all got together to celebrate Kakashi's birthday." I smiled and nodded at him.

"Alright gracious hostess, what do you have for us?" Jiraiya asked.

"Well, I thought we could play some games."

"Games?" Naruto asked. I was very thankful for Kakashi and Hinata's silence right then.

"Yes, games li-"

"Spin the bottle?" Jiraiya interjected, winking at me. Yeah, spin the bottle with him in the room when hell froze over. It was just too much temptation.

"No more like name that movie quote, or place the headband on the ninja, or mad-libs," I suggested. I hadn't been exactly sure what everyone would want to play. I knew it wouldn't be truth or dare for a long time. "Since it is Kakashi's birthday, I say we let him pick."

"Me? Hm." He put a finger to where his lips should have been. "Mad libs."

"Alright, mad libs it is then," I smiled, pulling the pad from my mother's table. I had selected a few I thought would be fun. "We'll do an excerpt from The Catcher and the Rye. Alright, I need an adverb," I said as I pointed to Kakashi with my favorite red pen.

"Slowly," he said.

"Next, I need a verb," I pointed to Jiraiya.

"Dance," he told me with a huge grin.

"Naruto, a verb in the past tense."

"Um… sang," he shrugged, his usual look of confusion crossing his face.

"Hinata, can you give me an adjective?"

"P-pretty."

"Right. Kakashi, plural noun please."

"Dogs."

"Good. Jiraiya again, fiction character this time."

"Kakashi." We all stared at him incredulously. "What? He is in a novel," Jiraiya shrugged. "And it is his birthday."

"Fine. Naruto, give me an undesirable noun."

"Hmm root rot." I raised my eyebrow quite a bit.

"Root rot? Nevermind. Hinata, a verb."

"R-ran."

"Good. Kakashi, noun."

"Cats?"

"I'll take it. Jiraiya verb in the present tense, it needs to end in s."

"Drives."

"Alright. Naruto, plural noun."

"Ramen."

"I knew that would come up sometime. Right, Hinata a number please."

"Thirteen."

"Good choice. I need a plural noun."

"Computers," Kakashi answered.

"Thank you. Jiraiya give me an adjective."

"Sexy."

"Knew that was coming. Naruto?"

"Hot?"

"Predictable," I nodded. "Alright Hinata, our last noun."

"Ninja," she smiled. I finished writing in all of the choices.

"_Alright, here is what you have folks. If you __**Slowly**__ want to __**Dance**__ about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was __**Sang**__, and what my __**Pretty **__childhood was like, and how my __**Dogs**__ were occupied and all before they had me, and all that __**Kakashi **__kind of __**Root rot**__, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to __**Ran**__ the __**Cats**__. In the first place, that stuff __**drives**__ me, and in the second place, my __**Ramen**__ would have about __**13**__**Computers**__ apiece if I told anything pretty __**Sexy**__ about them. They're quite __**Hot**__ about anything like that, especially my __**Ninja**_," I read, feeling like I was going to die as I was reading it through.

It was just too funny. I wasn't the only one laughing though. Everyone, including Kakashi found it hilarious. It had worked better than I had expected. It was nice. And so the game continued. We ended up with a new Eleanor Rigby going something like:

_Ah, look at all the __**sexy**__**dogs**__!  
Ah, look at all the __**sexy**__**dogs**__! _

_**Sakura**__**Haruno**__ picks up the __**table**__ in a __**college**__ where a __**Homecoming**__ has been.  
__**wrecks**__ in a __**church**__. _

_**drive**__ at the __**school**__, wearing the __**trash bag**__ that she keeps in a __**cake **__by the __**notebook **__. Who is it for? _

_All the __**sexy**__**dogs**__, where do they all come from?  
All the __**sexy**__**dogs**__, where do they all __**sleep**__? _

Unfortunately, Naruto and Jiraiya had used my name for the song instead of either making one up or using someone else. I was playing nicely today. But I thought the best one we had was the take on the Princess and the Pea.

_**the Ninja and the Samurai**_

_- Hans Christian Anderson _

_**ONCE**__ upon a time there was a prince who wanted to marry a __**Ninja**__; but she would have to be a real __**Ninja**__. He __**fought**__ all over the world to find one, but nowhere could he get what he wanted. There were __**Ninja**__es enough, but it was difficult to find out whether they were real ones. There was always something about them that was not as it should be. So he came home again and was sad, for he would have liked very much to have a real __**Ninja**__. _

_One evening a terrible storm came on; there was thunder and lightning, and the rain poured down in torrents. Suddenly a knocking was heard at the city gate, and the old king went to open it. _

_It was a __**Ninja**__ standing out there in front of the gate. But, good gracious! what a sight the rain and the wind had made __**Her**__ look. The water ran down from __**Her**__ hair and clothes; it ran down into the toes of __**Her**__ shoes and out again at the heels. And yet she said that she was a real __**Ninja**__. _

_"Well, we'll soon find that out," thought the old queen. But she said nothing, went into the bed-room, took all the bedding off the bedstead, and laid a __**Samurai**__ on the bottom; then she took twenty mattresses and laid them on the __**Samurai**__, and then twenty eider-down beds on top of the mattresses. _

_On this the __**Ninja**__ had to lie all night. In the morning she was asked how she had slept. _

_"Oh, very badly!" said she. "I have scarcely closed my eyes all night. Heaven only knows what was in the bed, but I was lying on something hard, so that I am black and blue all over my body. It's horrible!" _

_Now they knew that she was a real __**Ninja**__ because she had felt the __**Samurai**__ right through the twenty mattresses and the twenty eider-down beds. _

_Nobody but a real __**Ninja**__ could be as sensitive as that. _

_So the prince took __**Her**__ for his __**Marquis**__, for now he knew that he had a real __**Ninja**__; and the __**Samurai**__ was put in the museum, where it may still be seen, if no one has stolen it. _

_There, that is a true story. _

That one had Naruto and Jiraiya on the floor by the time I was done reading it aloud. I was glad that he had picked those first. It was a good way to break the ice between all of us. He must have known what he was doing.

Of course the next game we picked was the ninja headband one. Now, I know these may have seemed a little juvenile, but as much fun as we had, no one noticed.

Jiraiya tried to grab both Hinata and I when it was his turn, using the black scarf we had tied over his eyes as an excuse. The target on the wall had been over five feet the other way from where he tried to grab us. Of course Naruto had grown real upset about Hinata.

"Hey pervy sage, keep your hands off my girlfriend," he growled.

"Pervy sage?" Jiraiya asked pulling the blindfold off with a yank. "Don't call me that."

"But it fits doesn't it?" he shot back. I rubbed my temples.

"Guys, it's o-okay," she said. "It was just an accident. Let's c-continue t-the g-game." They both nodded, as it was her turn.

"You know, this is a lot of fun," Kakashi whispered in my ear as he was standing slightly behind me. We had of course allowed him to go first. He had come pretty close to the head, pinning it on the neck. Jiraiya had pinned it to his arm and Naruto, well Naruto had pinned it to a place that would make a lot of people cringe.

"I'm glad," I smiled, turning slightly to look at him.

"I'm enjoying myself."

"That's the whole point of this shin-dig," I told him with a laugh, touching my finger to the end of his covered nose.

"Alright, go Hinata!" Naruto cheered. I glanced to see that she had it on his forehead, much closer than anyone had gotten.

"You go girl!" I smiled. She turned around to blush at all of us.

"T-thank you," she smiled as her boyfriend removed the blindfold.

"Alright Sakura, everyone else has gone. It's your turn," Kakashi told me as he moved to take the blindfold from Naruto. I gulped. I hadn't planned on playing my own game.

"Oh no, that's okay. I don't have to go," I told him, even as Kakashi began to tie the thin black cloth around my eyes while someone took my clipboard from me. I had kept all the rules for the games and such on it for the day.

"Don't be silly, you can do this," he chided as his calloused hands rested on my back and shoulders, gently urging me forward in the dark. Yeah, right. I was rather clumsy when I really wanted to be graceful. Someone pressed one of the paper and tape headbands into my hand.

Out of habit, I reached forward and found the edges of the poster. Kakashi's hands had left my body as I tried to judge what I knew about the location of the head band-less ninja as well as where the others were and make my guess.

"Hm, I really thought you knew the human body better," Naruto said. I pulled the blindfold off only to see that I had missed the ninja completely.

"Good try anyway," Hinata told me with a small smile.

"At least it didn't go where Naruto put it," Jiraiya shrugged.

"It was a nice attempt," Kakashi told me quietly. It was just a game, but I still felt like a failure. I put on my brightest smile and directed everyone to the kitchen for cake. I was getting rather used to seeing my teachers outside of school. Not necessarily in my house, but out of their normal habitat.

I served out pieces of the wonderful homemade calorie crasher to my willing guests with the punch as they remained in the kitchen to spare my mother's pristine white carpets. She prided herself on all the work she put into them. I would have hated to try and top her with getting a double chocolate stain out of the fibers.

There wasn't a lot of speaking as everyone at quietly. Kakashi kept his head turned away from the others, even if they all tried to look. His crazy grey hair helped in that task and the fact that I was sitting beside him, keeping up a mindless chat.

He briefly reached between us to grasp my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, to thank me. I smiled even wider and continued speaking to keep the attention on me until he was done. At least he ate fast, well more like inhaled. He had to though, to keep that beautiful secret known as his face, safe.

"Well, it is time for gift giving," Jiraiya said as he produced a long white box. It looked like it could be one of those wristband watches, similar to what I remembered Shikamaru wearing.

"Should I be afraid?" Kakashi asked, raising his one visible silver eyebrow as he took the box. Naruto had gone to grab the two from the living room, since none of us had moved from the kitchen.

"No, of course not. I think you'll like it."

Kakashi pulled the lid off the box, clearly waiting for something to jump out and grab him. But of course, for once nothing of the sort happened. He reached inside tenderly, probably wondering if something was going to bite him, only to draw a silver headband out.

This one had a black stretchy and wide band attaching the silver to the material so that it could be tied on the head or really anywhere. It was obviously a recreation of what was probably an ancient one, but that didn't matter to Kakashi.

"Well, you were right. This is a recreated headband of the Hidden Leaf Ninja," Kakashi explained to the rest of the waiting table. "From the Fire Nation."

"Mhm. I knew you would appreciate it." He crossed his arms, leaning back in the wooden chair as he nodded.

"I really do, thanks Jiraiya." Hinata presented Kakashi with her and Naruto's gift. It was also a box, once Kakashi pulled all of the paper off. She had wrapped it so neatly that I think he really hated to ruin it.

"Do you like it?" she asked.

"Yes, it is something I needed as well. Thank you, Naruto, Hinata." He held it up from the also white box and the slight white fluff material they had put underneath it. It was a gift card to some department store. Hinata had probably picked it up and just told Naruto what it was.

"You're welcome Professor Kakashi."

"Alright Sakura, I know you have something," he nudged. I glanced at Jiraiya before I handed it over. I wasn't as good at wrapping things; Christmas was like the devil to me when it came to wrapping for the family, but that didn't matter to Kakashi of course. He neatly pulled the tape from the slick paper at what he guessed was the bottom as he pulled the book out. It was upside down, but he knew what it was from the orange cover.

"Breathe Kakashi," Jiraiya teased from the end of the table.

"This is the new one?" he asked as he glanced up at all of us, already turning the pages to get a glimpse of the creative words within.

"Mhm," I nodded.

"I love it," he said as he began to read on. Maybe I should have waited until he was going to go home to give it to him. We were in danger of him reading all of it right here. "Thank you Sakura, Jiraiya." I glanced at the clock; it was already around five. Time had flown.

"Well, I better get going. I have a date tonight," Jiraiya told us as he got up from the table with a small wave. "Have fun you kids and thanks for inviting me Sakura."

"No problem," I smiled back as he showed himself out.

"Yeah Sakura, we better get going if we're going to go home and have dinner with Kurenai," Naruto said as he and Hinata stood up as well. Two hours was about enough for something like this anyway.

"Thank you for having us over and happy birthday," Hinata smiled. She looked kind of tired. I wondered if she was getting sick. She had barely touched her cake this afternoon.

"Thank you," he nodded, looking up from the book for a second. I walked them to the door so that I could make sure that it shut properly, sharing goodbyes and such. When I turned around, Kakashi was sitting in my mother's chair now.

"Well, what about you, nothing to do tonight?" I teased.

"No, not really." He put the book down and leaned forward a little. "You know, this was a nice party Sakura. You really didn't have to, but I…appreciate it. No one has ever done this for me," he confessed.

"Really? No one has ever thrown you a party?"

"No," he shook his head. "Not since probably my father, but he didn't put a lot of emphasis on aging," he shrugged.

"Kakashi," I started, leaning forward as well. "That's really kind of sad."

"I know, but I feel better now." His one eye bore deep into mine as he leaned forward even more, pulling his mask down slowly again. I couldn't imagine what his plans were. But before I really knew it once again, his lips were on my cheek.

But this time, it was really his lips and not the cover of his mask touching my face. They were as soft there as they had been on my finger earlier. My air supply caught in my throat, my heart hammering against my chest, and my skin had begun to sweat a little.

He moved back some, that lazy smile in place as I watched his lips murmur something to my hazy and almost drugged out brain.

"What?" I asked stupidly.

"Thank you," he breathed against my face. I could smell the chocolate on his breath, his carbon dioxide release warm and welcoming even against my flushing skin. He placed another kiss for good measure, knowing what it was doing to me, before he pulled the mask back up. What a horrible tease he was.

But still, I found myself stuttering out a "thank you" before he began to help me clean up everything so that my mother wouldn't know. Not that she would have stopped it had she been home, just that she wouldn't have been very happy.

I wished Kakashi had been able to stay, even though we took forever cleaning up everything just to spend more time together. Of course he did have papers he should have been grading. I would have to find other ways of keeping him in my house in the future, since he had no problem showing up.

We were mostly silent as we picked up the cups and plates, disposing them in the trash, then pulling the crepe paper off the wall and cleaning up the ninja game. He helped make sure that furniture was back in its proper place while I made sure that the cake was wrapped for him to take home.

"Really Sakura, thank you so much for doing this," he praised me again as he made to leave, gifts and cake in hand.

"No problem Kakashi, you know that." He nodded.

"One of these days Sakura, I'm going to steal you away for the weekend," he told me as he used his free hand to ruffle my hair.

"I would still like that," I laughed. We stood there awkwardly, the sun getting ready to set soon. I honestly wasn't looking forward to the rest of the weekend without his company. So, to soak the last of it up, I rushed forward and hugged him around the waist as tight as I could.

His body was warm and soft and he didn't try to stop me. In fact, as best he could, he wrapped his arms back around me to reassure me that the feeling was mutual. I knew I had to let go so that he could go home and tend to things, but not before I breathed in his musky and familiar scent.

Only then did I release him and share goodbyes as I turned back to finish the weekend in one of the most boring manners ever created: homework. But it was hard to concentrate with a certain silver-haired professor on my mind.

X

Where I had spent most of the weekend in euphoric bliss with both the dance and the party, the following school week started out like hell and showed no sign of getting any better all based on Monday's morning.

I knew that Hiro was probably going to be a problem, but the whole weekend and my thoughts of Kakashi gave me some reinforcement. I had spent a lot of time dwelling on his face, the feel of his lips against my cheek, and the finger in his mouth.

When I walked into Biology, I made sure that I was purposely walking in just seconds before Tsunade, that way Hiro wouldn't be able to speak to me and Tsunade wouldn't be breathing down my neck for any amount of extra time.

I received a pissed off glare from Hiro as I took my seat beside him. It was like he was trying to burn holes in the back of my head all the way down to my back. I was glad that he didn't possess heat vision or else I would have been dead right away.

I also got a fair amount of glares and angrily asked questions from Tsunade and I knew that she would be hell for the next few weeks at least.

But what I was most afraid of was outside of class when I would be on free range and so would they. Would they confront me at once about the weekend or would they bide their time and wait until my guard was down? While I didn't like either choice, I had no real say in the matter of the inevitable.

It was Hiro first.

I grabbed my books from the polished surface of the black lab table as I tried to scurry from the room and to the safety of Kakashi's office before either of them figured out where I had gone. But once I was in the hall, a firm hand on my shoulder stopped me dead in my tracks.

"Sakura, we need to talk," an all too familiar voice spoke softly.

X

Hm, what is going to happen? Hope to hear from you! Don't forget to review!


	12. Chapter 12

Welcome to chapter twelve! I no longer have an eleven chapter curse, eleven always being the number of chapters I usually put a fic on hiatus, though depending on how you guys take this it may be there yet. I really wanted to have this updated before I started school again, but circumstances and such prevented me from doing so. I thank each and every one of you for reviewing, alerting, faving, and just enjoying the fic. I really appreciate it, and after the hectic week I've had they count even more as I took a nasty spill on a common area floor yesterday and parts of my anatomy that are usually not sore are today, or just my arse. As a word of advice I offer, flats, tile, and rainy days do not mix well with less than five minutes to make it to a social problems class. I totally cannot believe I did that! Enough about me, more about the chapter I'm sure:

I'm going to ask and possibly demand in advance, do not get upset about this chapter okay? Just stick with me while I change some of the storyline even more to suit the needs. I know that Itachi really killed his family and that he had good reason for it and all, just I changed that a little or a lot for this. I hope that doesn't detract from the fic and that no one gets upset over this. I promise it has a plan and all for the ending and events leading up to it.

There are also some other things about the chapter, such as some of you I think asked if not though that Hinata was pregnant. I'm going to let the chapter answer that for you. As for anything else, remember this is AU and they are freshmen in college, etc. I have changed some elements and may not represent all college experiences or emotions to keep with the Naruto elements as well. Some of it is based on my current college experience and those of people close to me, they say to be a good writer, write about things you know, right?

Also, the stuff about the masks mentioned later are something I picked up from a multicultural class this summer from a video about Japan. They're so polite, if they get sick, some of them will wear masks to keep from spreading whatever the sickness is. Continue to remember this is M rated as well.

I think and have been told, I worry too much and I'm working on that. So maybe I'm just babbling on here, just thought I would make mention of that to everyone. As I stated above, I am back in fall semester myself with a schedule similar to Sakura's though not on purpose and updates will be as I get time and of course feedback. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or its characters; I do not own the title of the fic; I only own Hiro I think.

* * *

She's Leaving Home

Chapter 12

This was one of those rare moments in life when you are faced with what seems like an impossible choice.

On one hand, I could turn around and just slap a chunk of disgusting flesh from Hiro's face for what he had said to me at the dance.

On the other, I was in college after all and I should be trying to reason things out with him, find out why he acted as he had, and see if we could resolve the issue.

Hm, I really wanted to go with the first one. In my best and quite possibly high school opinion, the bastard deserved it. In my ever growing mature side, I needed to merely speak with him to find out what was going on.

Maybe it was a problem at home I didn't know about, maybe it was drugs, and maybe Hiro was a nut job and needed to be locked away for life. Whatever the reason, I needed to get the bottom of why, talk it out, and then get rid of him.

"Yes, we do Hiro," I spoke softly as I felt the hand drop from my shoulder and I was able to spin around to face him. He was still sporting a rather nice and glacial glare for me, cold enough to freeze hell. I wondered if he had picked it up from Professor Tsunade.

"But not right here," he suggested. No, it was going to be right there or I would resort to my high school methods again.

"Yes right here," I argued back. "Anything you have to say to me we can deal with in the hall right now." He huffed. Was this the real side of Hiro? He had just been lying to me the entire time? Probably. It was something that guys did frequently in my world.

"Fine," he snipped. I could honestly say he wasn't quite the guy he had first appeared to be. Hiro was a lie to everyone around him, or he had a split personality; either worked in my defining him as a psychotic classmate and non boyfriend material.

"What's going on?" I asked, moving my face to sort of mirror his as I crossed my arms over my books.

"Why did you walk out on me at the dance?" He too, crossed his arms. At least I would have to see them uncross before he could try to strangle me. That was some cheerful news. Not.

"Because, you were acting disgusting," I spat. "You were demeaning and crude, like all the boys my age," I added.

"Oh really?" Yeah, hell was freezing over now.

"Yes really. Who told you that being disgusting like that would get you anywhere? Girls hate that sort of talk, well girls in the real world," I explained. I wondered why he didn't just contact me on my cell phone and chew me out about this.

Hiro didn't have answer for me. He made no move to speak, just hoping that glaring daggers into my soul was going to work.

"I see. Hiro, look, I don't know what happened to you between the weekdays and then the dance, but something did. I don't like it, to be quite honest, and I'm afraid this is never going to work," I told him pointedly. I was quite glad there were so many people hanging around. I just knew if I had gone and had this talk with him elsewhere, he would probably be trying to stop me somehow.

"Sakura wait, I don't know what came over me," he called as I started walking down the hall. I didn't want to hear it. I knew he had been too nice. I could see why Kakashi didn't want me to hang around him at all and had invited me first to the dance. Hiro was crazy, and not in the trendy way.

I didn't respond to him, just continuing to walk as if I had not heard him yelling both foul and apologetic sentences to my retreating back. I was fully convinced that he just wasn't alright. Maybe he had stopped taking whatever medication he should have been on or maybe this proved that he needed some.

Classes were going to be hell though.

I wondered if Professor Tsunade would allow me to move to another table for a new and non psychotic lab partner. Probably not. In fact, it was in my best interest to avoid her for a while too. My weary feet carried me toward Kakashi's office, Hiro unable to spot me in the crowds.

I had done it though; I had shaken off Hiro's insane affections. No longer would I be obligated to be nice to him or see any sort of trace of a possible life partner in his eyes.

My heart felt lighter already.

My flats squeaked making a transition from the tiled hallways to the carpet of the staff suites as I traced the familiar path to his office. I needed his solace right now, for him to tell me that everything was going to be alright. Even if he couldn't touch me or anything, I just wanted to be safe near him.

His door was open as usual, his grey head bent over the latest stack of papers, and him in deep concentration. I rapped my knuckles softly on the metal door jam, hoping he would hear me. He looked up, appearing sort of groggy as if he had been asleep instead of working.

"Come in Sakura, shut the door." I did as was asked of me, shutting the thick wooden door behind me and taking the seat across from him. I couldn't ignore the soft sigh that I caught escaping from my lips. His one visible eye raked over me, clearly assessing any damage before he spoke again. "Something happened didn't it?"

"Well, yes," I mumbled, looking away. Suddenly my bravery to Hiro didn't matter so much now that I wasn't in the student and staff eye of the college. It was just Kakashi and I.

"What happened?" he prompted, setting his thin red pen down on the stack and moving around the desk to sit in front of me. Of course my body language was very plain. I was shaking from the force of it all, school and Hiro, having teachers upset with me, etc.

"Well um Hiro-"

"Did he touch you?" Kakashi asked as he swiftly grasp my shoulders, his one visible eye searching both of mine almost frantically.

"No, well not like you think he did," I explained softly. "I just told him things weren't going to work out between us. Not that I regret doing that and wanted to date him of course, just that I'm not sure what he will do next or what Tsunade might do and all." I felt like I was babbling helplessly.

"Oh, I understand," Kakashi sighed with something similar to relief. "Are you okay though?" he asked, releasing his hands from their death grip on my sensitive flesh.

"I think so, I'm just kind of shaken up," I confessed.

"You have every right to be. Sakura, if Hiro or anyone else comes up to you from now on, please just come to me alright?"

"Okay," I nodded swiftly.

"Though this is college and everyone should know better, they just don't always," he sighed, raking a hand through his soft hair. "Hopefully nothing will happen as people wouldn't want to see me when I'm upset," he laughed.

"No, I know I don't want to find out," I laughed as well, already feeling slightly better.

"I don't want you to either," he told me as he grabbed me in a hug, pulling my body from the chair. He was warm, as usual, and I felt so much better wrapped in his arms. I set his masked chin on the top of my head for a few moments, just squeezing me closer. "Feel better?" he asked.

"Yes, lots," I smiled. He let go, holding me at an arm's length, searching my features again to make sure that I wasn't just trying to cover up something. "Thanks Kakashi."

"Anytime Sakura," he told me gently. We shared a moment of quiet observation. "So, is my assistant looking for something to do?" he asked.

"Yes I suppose," I smiled.

"Well, these files need to be organized," he gestured to the ones beside the current stack of papers he was grading.

"I'm on it."

X

When I walked to English with Kakashi, I only saw Naruto, out of the couple. I took my usual seat next to him, not thinking anything of Hinata being out of the room. I figured she might have just gone to the bathroom, that is, until I noted that her things were missing.

"Naruto," I leaned over very quietly before class started. "Where is Hinata?" He turned to regard me with one of the saddest expressions I've ever seen cross his face. He was being awfully quiet.

"She's home sick with a bug," he told me. For a moment I questioned that, considering that she might have been pregnant instead, but I realized she probably wasn't. I based that part of looking around the room and finding several classmates out and others looking bad off.

I hoped that it wasn't catching, even though I could see that even Naruto was looking rather ill himself. That would have explained why she didn't look good on Saturday. This was the sixth week, only really ten more to try and survive. I was starting to mark them off on a calendar at home.

"I hope she feels better," I told him. "I hate it when she's out sick. Then she leaves me with you all by myself," I grinned, hoping it would humor the blond. He laughed, but weakly.

Kakashi called the class to attention, directing us toward the board. This week we would be revising our essays. I was glad we didn't have to write another one. I was running low on ideas for the subjects he was coming up with. My mind was already tired of school work.

This week was another testing week for most of my classes so I would have to concentrate on something besides what Kakashi was wearing today-a black button down shirt that seemed cut for him with a pair of slacks much the same way-and do well.

I couldn't start breaking down now.

I knew on my last essay that I hadn't written to the best of my ability and Kakashi was fair with the errors I had made. I could remember better how he had been looking or what was going through my mind when I wrote it than what the point of the essay had been. That wasn't a good sign. I was going to have to try harder.

I mentally slapped myself into action as I carefully re-wrote all of the fragments and misspelled words I had so carelessly included Out of all the classes I took, his was the quietest. The quiet was okay though, for the whole hour and fifteen minutes we had together. It was similar to working in his office.

I could see him glance up from behind the orange backed book every now and again to survey us, making sure that we were working as we should. Naruto, for once, was doing exactly as he was told, no questions asked, in a loud manner or in an even louder manner.

It was rather strange, like the universe had been tipped on her side or something. I figured it was probably an indication of how the rest of the week was going to go. The world is a funny place sometimes, I swear.

"Alright class, remember that you have an assignment to be working on, as mentioned in the syllabus," Kakashi told us, one of the few things he had said all semester, as we all made to leave. Naruto and I were the last ones, as usual. "Naruto, Sakura, can you hold on for a second?" he requested. He had already told me that I could go home today.

"Sure," Naruto mumbled. I couldn't tell if he was just sick or tired, maybe both. He just wasn't being Naruto. Just like Hiro wasn't being Hiro, just a shallow version of the version I had been introduced to.

"If I let you take Hinata's essay to her, can you have her send it in by email with all of the corrected changes by the end of the week, should she be out that long? If not, then just tell her to correct it and bring it back Wednesday."

"Yeah, you can trust me," he nodded.

"Good, as I normally wouldn't allow this to happen, but you guys are special to me not to play favorites," he explained. "I just know that she hates to probably miss class as well." Naruto coughed rather violently into his hand.

"I'll help him with that," I said, taking the papers he was holding out.

"Thanks Sakura. Now get him home before he coughs up something from the far end of the universe," Kakashi joked. Naruto glared but I steered him out of the room as Kakashi began to pack up his things. Paging Dr. Sakura, I could hear it already.

"Come on, let's get you home before you get any worse," I said. That's why he had spent the greater part of the class looking like he was going to choke. He hadn't wanted to cough so loudly I guess. I had never seen him this sick before I didn't think.

"What about Hinata's essay?" he asked as we headed down the hall to leave and get on the bus.

"I'll take it to her," I told him. It wasn't that far away from my house. I could just run there again.

"Thanks Sakura. You know, that's really nice of Kakashi to do, even though he doesn't have to."

"I know," I smiled. "I know." Naruto continued to cough into his hand all the way to the bus, and then even after we got on. "Do you want me to ride with you to your stop or go on home?"

"I'll be-" cough "fine-" cough "just" cough "go ho-" cough cough "home." No, I wasn't mean enough to make him go home all alone.

"Naruto, just shut up. I'll walk with you. It isn't that far to Hinata's from your place anyway."

"Don't go soft on me," he said. It was one of the few sentences he had been able to say clearly once we had hopped the bus.

"I'm not. I just want to make sure that you get home alright so that you can live another day for me to hurt you," I told him.

"Fine." I swear he could be so pig headed sometimes, not that I was really any better. We were both rather quiet, even after we got to his stop. He didn't live all that far away from the old Uchiha house. Until then, I had completely forgotten about that creepy man. That though alone almost made me back out, until I looked at how sick Naruto was growing and remembered my whole reason.

Maybe the man wouldn't even be around when I went by. I hoped so, to whatever deity may have been watching my struggle. I guess none were watching.

"I'll see you later Naruto. Be sure to get plenty of rest," I told him as he unlocked the door to his duplex. "And fluids, drink plenty of those."

"Yes mother Sakura," he rolled his eyes as waved. Holding the paper in my hand, I began to walk down the lonely sidewalk. My parents probably weren't even home yet, or if they were they figured I had something to do and would be home eventually.

It was starting to get dark a little earlier, not too much like it would be in a few months, but still just enough to sort of freak me out. I would be passing by, no matter what side of the street I was on, the Uchiha house after all. Sasuke always tried to convince us it was haunted when he was younger and we were more naive, well Naruto still was.

I don't believe in ghosts to be honest, but I do believe that something evil was in that house, or at least attracted evil people to it. Though, Itachi wasn't evil as I remember. I would go over to Sasuke's house to play with him and Naruto when we were in elementary school, Itachi already on his way to high school I think.

He was a genius sure, but he was also nice. He would come in and interact with all of us, a gentle smile on his face, and obvious care for his brother. I found myself questioning if he really did murder his family or someone else was behind it. Itachi just never fit the profile of a murder to me.

I was surprised I had even remembered that much. Parts of the whole thing and even parts of my childhood seemed to have disappeared with all of it. It had just made the world feel like a different place. Why would that creepy man have wanted to move into it anyway? That was like moving into a funeral home.

I thought that the murders had happened right around this time of the year, when Sasuke had been ready to start school with the rest of us. He had actually been sent to live with a distant cousin or something of that nature named Madara. As I said, the details were beyond foggy. If it was meant to come back, it would.

Walking down that block made me feel like I was the only one alive as I ignored the golden windows of the homes I passed of people already home with their families. It wouldn't be so long before I would be one of them, just as soon as I delivered the essay. My parents had arrived home early enough Sunday to speak with me before they trudged off to bed.

Every weekend was going to be like that for a while though.

I would have to not be so lonely. Last year at this time, I had Ino to pal around with only now Ino has Genma. I didn't know if I could handle every weekend alone. I could always go and spend it with Hinata sometimes or Temari if I was feeling violent.

It was kind of disheartening, not knowing where I stood with my ultra gorgeous teacher.

I was probably just growing impatient with the whole situation, even though it was only the sixth week, well beginning of the sixth week. I still had a long way to go it felt like. To be a doctor, I had years and years of school left ahead of me. But it would be worth it; I would be helping people just like I had always wanted, I would be of use, of service.

Something disrupted me from my train of thought before I could rise to stand on my soapbox in my inner dialogue.

I was passing the Uchiha house. It had lights on inside, the curtains wide open where everyone could see inside. There was that strange man wandering around and he wasn't alone. I could see the back of someone's messy black head. I recognized the hairstyle instantly.

Sasuke.

He appeared to be arguing with the strange man about something for I could see the set of his jaw when he turned a little. Oh my how thin he was. Neji hadn't been kidding when he had told me. He looked sickly, like he had been staying up too late or just not getting any sort of peace at all. I could feel my heart break a little.

This was another one of those times to make the decision thing.

I could just continue walking until I reached Hinata's house and dropped off the essay before walking back this way, pretending I heard or saw nothing.

Or I could just sneak up close enough and try to get a quick listen. From where I was standing I could almost hear Sasuke's voice anyway. Something must have really riled him up for him to be raising his voice, no wait, for him to even be speaking as much as he appeared to be.

Of course I chose the latter.

I put the essay in one of my books as I began to creep up the side of the expensive black Honda civic parked in the driveway. My heart was pounding in my ears at the thought that I would get caught, but that was part of the fun wasn't it? I had to know what was going on so that I could possibly help 

Sasuke with whatever he was going through. The security light on the edge of the house was already on, meaning someone had been around before I had or it stayed on continuously.

I got closer to the side of the house, just near the edge of the window, trying to keep my feet as quiet as possible in my best ninja impression, and trying not to think of all the consequences for if I got caught. I was trespassing after all.

"-but I don't think I can keep living this way," Sasuke's panicked voice floated through the glass.

"You can, if you want help getting your brother out," the other man spoke calmly.

"But Orochimaru, people are starting to show concern for me," Sasuke said.

"Then just lie a little more. I don't have to help you know," he said pointedly. "Your innocent brother can rot in prison."

"But Itachi is innocent," Sasuke told him furiously.

"I know that," the man laughed. It was a creepy and hollow sound. "Don't worry, just keep going to class and doing the tasks I ask you to and soon enough your beloved Itachi will be free." The tone was mocking. How was Sasuke able to take that?

Itachi was innocent? My mind tried to process the information. My whole universe was being knocked on its ass today. My careful feet crunched one of the twigs from the bushes.

"What was that?" Sasuke demanded. I could hear his heavy footfalls coming toward the window. If he looked just right he would see me. I began to sweat as my fight or flight senses kicked in. Before he could reach the window, the other man stopped him with:

"Probably just a cat or something. You better get back to your dormitory while I prepare for a new school tomorrow." I didn't stay to hear anymore as I began to run as quietly as possible around the side of the car and down the sidewalk. I ran until my lungs burned and my muscles cramped from not stretching at all.

Had I really just heard that whole thing? Should I tell someone? But there wasn't anything going on. I didn't have proof of anything. No, no I would just wait it out, see if I couldn't get more information myself. But Itachi was innocent? I did however know what was wrong with Sasuke now and I could have Neji keep a better eye on him.

I walked slowly to let my body rest as I headed for Hinata's house. I could see Kurenai's and Asuma's cars in the driveway so I figured someone was home, just getting someone to the door would be the trick.

I knocked the door as hard as I could since the TV was blaring. I was answered with some sort of muffled yell before a very worn out looking Kurenai answered the door.

"Oh Sakura, come on in," she smiled. "I was just trying to teach Asuma how to cook dinner."

"Oh no, that's okay. I just came by to drop this essay off for Hinata to correct and give back to Professor Kakashi either Wednesday or if she misses the rest of the week to just email it in."

"That's sweet of him," she smiled as I retrieved the papers from my book where I had stuffed them in during my shinobi tactics. "I'll be sure to help her as much as I can. She's pretty sick, something nasty going around. You just be sure not to catch it."

"I'll try not to, though Naruto looks like he may be getting it."

"Probably," she nodded. "He spends all of his time around here. Hinata got it from me I think as I had it last week. Just be careful."

"I will," I smiled. "See you later and tell her I hope she feels better."

"I will." I began to head home. I didn't feel sick, which was fortunate for the moment. I usually had a pretty good immune system, getting sick very rarely.

I had to pass by the Uchiha house again before I reached my own. The light in the living room was still on, but there was no sight of the man around. I tried to walk as fast as I could without running again. There had to be some way to help Sasuke.

After dinner with my parents and while I was trying to study, I couldn't help but think how helpless I was really feeling. Sasuke had to be so alone at that college on the other side of town. It was hard to concentrate with so much weighing on my mind. I sneezed into my hand. I couldn't get sick right now.

X

All of Tuesday, through Jiraiya and Iruka's classes, I felt like I was learning underwater. I didn't see Naruto or Hinata and I couldn't help but feel exceptionally alone. I blew my nose as I headed from the freezing indoors of the school to the sunny outside commons.

I needed to eat something and to stay in the heat if I was going to feel better for Asuma's class. My head felt like it was full, and none of that was from learning anything in my classes. I sat on the concrete wall, turning my face toward the sun, and closing my eyes.

The rays felt good to my fair skin and I could feel the pressure begin to dissipate from my body, at least for a few moments until a cloud passed over. I groaned as I leaned forward and rested my head against the hot concrete.

"Oh not you too," someone said from behind me.

"Yes, I think I got it from Naruto," I mumbled, turning my aching head a little. I had already taken pain killers but they didn't seem to be doing me a lot of good.

"Well, maybe it will clear up in a day or two," Kakashi said as he got right down next to my eye.

"Hmph, fat chance," I mumbled.

"That's a pessimistic attitude you have today," he told me as he sat down beside my head on the concrete wall. "You must be sick."

"I know, I know, just I feel so awful and I was only around him yesterday. I knew that twerp was full of disease," I groaned. My head felt short of exploding.

"Oh you don't know that for sure," he told me as he tried to pick up my head and put it in his lap. "It could clear up." My body felt like lead and I couldn't move. "Could you work with me here?" he laughed.

"I'll try but I feel terrible," I mumbled as I scooted my body the warmth of his black pants as I rested my head on the coiled muscles resting just beneath. I was sick if I wasn't freaking out about the fact that my clouded head was resting in his lap.

"Well, you just rest for a little while okay?"

"What about people seeing us?" Okay, so maybe I wasn't all that sick. I still had things to worry about.

"No one will take a second glance and if they do it's not like we're doing anything bad." That was true. Anyone could take one look at me and see I wasn't well. Jiraiya didn't spend half the morning teasing me; well he couldn't since he had given us a test for once.

Oh my how good Kakashi's thigh felt against my face, even if it was covered. I kept my eyes shut, trying to just let my body relax and keep my mind clear of all the Sasuke stuff. I had no proof and I was the only witness.

Today was one of those days where it feels like even though you have slept, you don't feel like you did. I had hours before my next class and I know I slept, but when Kakashi woke me up to walk me there, I felt as if it had only been mere minutes.

"I don't want to go," I moaned as he helped me to my feet. My head felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.

"Well you could skip, but I don't support that practice," he told me as I helplessly hung on his arm while he carried my things. I couldn't believe this was happening either. Well, I could but my mind was so hazed over. I stumbled along beside him.

"You can't, you're my professor," I told him in my best, albeit stuffy matter-of-fact voice.

"Yes, I know. As a friend I would say just go home, but I think you'll be okay," he told me.

"I will. I've had my rest."

"I'll wait for you."

"You don't have to do that, I'll be okay, honest."

"Sakura, you know better than to argue with me. I'm waiting to make sure you'll be okay to make it to the bus."

"Ugh," I groaned, but I was secretly very flattered that he was going through so much trouble for me. I leaned against his shoulder until we made it to the classroom. As usual, people were already inside.

"See you in an hour and fifteen minutes," Kakashi told me, patting my hand.

"If you insist," I smiled. He looked left and right, to be sure that no one was around, before he planted a gentle and mask-covered kiss to my cheek. I could feel warmth radiate through my body as he prompted me in the classroom. I felt a little better as I wandered like a zombie to my seat.

"Well I see it looks like everyone is getting this bug," Asuma commented as turned from the board. "Haruno is on time for once."

"Heh, I try," I told him as I pulled out my homework, but I knew that paying attention wasn't going to happen. I wasn't feeling myself and then Kakashi had to go and kiss me, probably knowing what it was going to do to me.

Just as he said, Kakashi was waiting for me after class.

"Did you play nicely with Asuma and the other students?" he joked as he took my books from me.

"I tried," I joked back, knowing I still had three days of classes, all ready to kill me.

"Good, I don't see anyone with teeth marks." He was holding my arm, my books, and his orange backed novel as we walked along to the bus stop. He was walking slow enough to make sure that I didn't trip on my own feet and fall on my rear.

I needed to study for Tsunade's exam tomorrow but my head was so stuffed that I wasn't sure I wouldn't do anything other than go to bed and just wing it. Bed sounded so nice right about then.

"Sakura, I think I need to just drive you home," Kakashi told me. I hadn't realized that we were heading in another direction.

"No, I can take the bus," I whined.

"No, you can't because you missed it and would have to wait. Besides, this way I can keep my eye on you." There was no arguing with Kakashi Hatake.

"Fine," I sighed. We headed out behind the staff facilities to where his car was waiting. It was one of the few still left in the parking lot. He helped me inside, shutting the door behind me as he 

walked around to the driver side. I was a little worried that he might read his novel while he was driving. This reminded me of that day in the rain.

I thought it might be one of those very private times when I have some sort of heart to heart with Kakashi, but all I did was fall asleep against the glass and exit the car after thanking him for driving me home. I had just woken seconds before he pulled down my block. My parents were already home.

"Sakura, you don't look well," my father commented as I walked by him.

"She isn't well? What do you mean?" My mother asked as she walked in, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "You don't look well," she commented as well before she rushed forward and grabbed me, checking for a fever.

"I'm just a little sick. I think I need to rest," I said. _And study, _I added in my head. No matter how sick I was, I needed to at least give it a shot.

"Sakura, you need to go to bed. You look terrible," my mother told me. "But you need to probably eat something at least. Go lay down and I'll bring you something." She pushed me in the direction of my bedroom by the butt.

I dropped my things down and tried to change into my pajamas. The task was a lot harder than I thought and I ended up just stripping down and climbing under the covers with my biology notes. I was half asleep when my mother came in with food.

X

"Honey, you can't go to school looking like this," my mother commented as she drank her coffee the next morning. I was up early because I had spent half the night waking up unable to breathe.

"But this is college, I have tests," I choked out.

"Sakura, you're going to get worse if you go today."

"I will not," I complained. I wanted nothing more than to rest in bed, but this was like a job, I needed to go even if I was a little or a lot sick. It was too important. I couldn't afford to miss even one of her tests.

"I guess you'll just have to let her go," my father told her. She turned around to glare daggers at him before turning to glare them back at me. Yay for good old dad. "She isn't going to change her mind and you can't stay home to watch her."

"I guess, but Sakura you better-"

"Drink plenty of fluids, get rest, don't overdo it. I know."

"Alright, don't get sarcastic with me," she told me as she tried to give me a hug before she ran out the door. "And be sure to wear a mask when you go out in public, they're under the sink, left over 

from your father's cold last year." I nearly laughed to myself, would have, if my chest hadn't hurt so bad from a night spent coughing. I would look like Kakashi. I just wished everyone else had been polite enough to wear one.

I was glad I had risen early as it took me twice as long to move around since I was sick and trying to get over the feeling of like the world was underwater. I was going to last through the rest of the week if it killed me and at least long enough to kill Naruto for giving it to me.

I prepared a lunch of different medications for different ailments, depending on how I was feeling by the time Tsunade's class was over. I might just end up coming home or something. It was hard to carry all my things, as I felt like all my strength had depleted.

My bus ride was lonely and unenthused. Naruto must have really been sick since I didn't see him at school yet again today. He usually wasn't one to give up on things. Lucky for me, Hiro must have been sick as well since he wasn't in the classroom when I entered, and I had just made it in time for class. There were other students like me wearing masks to keep the spreading to a minimum.

I sat at my usual place on the lab table and waited for the storm that would probably be Tsunade. But nothing came, no thunderous steps down the hall like on Monday, no students cowering in fear, nothing. We waited over ten minutes and still no one. Fifteen minutes was the waiting time wasn't it?

This wasn't like her to miss class. I think she got personal pleasure out of subjecting us to torture. The few of us left were still waiting patiently. Still no Tsunade, instead, a raven-haired man walked into the room, a man that I recognized instantly.

"Good morning class, it would see that your regular professor has taken ill this morning and so I will be conducting the class. You may call me Professor Orochimaru," he smiled, revealing fang-like pristine teeth to us as his gaze focused on me, his eyes seeming to say 'I know you were listening the other night.'

This day was not going to go well at all.

X

Another cliffhanger I know. That's as much for me as it is for you. So, feedback please? Remember, constructive not destructive. Also, feel free to voice your projected thoughts and theories regarding the rest of the chapters. Hope to hear from you soon!


	13. Chapter 13

Hello, bet you all thought I was dead or something right? No, just busy, lazy and a hundred other things I'm not going to delve into right now. Honestly, school last semester kicked my ass toward the end and I actually lost my nerve with a lot of my fanfiction and ended up not updating much at a time. I'm still not sure I got this back, but I didn't want to let it go so long either.

If you are really interested in other reasons for my long abscence, then visit my deviantart and see my latest projects, private message, ask when you comment, whatever. If you're really interested that is. Also for anyone that added me to livejournal and then didn't see me update anything, I'm working on that now.

So, just a few things about this chapter and story in general. Fiction, so this isn't the best representation of real life anything, and neither is most of the stuff on the telly and yet we all still watch right? Exactly.

It has been a long time since I had the flu, but I have been sick on and off all year, so this might not be a familar strain of the flu, but there are different ones and everyone's reactions are not the same, nor is treatment and nor is this treatment exactly correct, just a fiction writer, not a doctor. In fact, going to school to be a librarian in fact.

So, if you're going to critique, please be nice about it and offer insight, pointers, etc. but in a positive manner. Really, it has been a long time since I worked on this and I'm kind of scared this will be terrible and shatter the little bit of confidence I built back up.

Thank you for all the comments and reminders to update this. I'm so glad that you guys have so much confidence in this story and want to see it continued and that you are enjoying it thus far. It would never get anywhere without your kind support. Same thing with favorites and alerts. I appreciate each one of you and hope to never disappoint.

As for the way this chapter ends, this is more for me to continue with chapter 14 and not to be cruel. I just need an incentive myself to keep going and open ended and cliff hangers is the way to do. I would also like to especially thank Pance for all of her continued support with this fic, poking me nicely and such to continue, so without her I probably wouldn't have had another chapter up for months. Also to Mateba who sent PMs and anyone else that poked or prodded me over the months. Really, I apologize for taking so long, it just isn't like me.

I hope to get around to answering more of my emails soon, so if you sent me one that never got a reply, I'm working on it. As I said, I have been busy and kind of reclusive, though it was more because of school than anything else.

So, sorry for the long note. Please enjoy this chapter and I can't wait to hear from everyone!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, no money is made from this, and The Beatles own the title of the fic.

* * *

She's Leaving Home

Chapter 13

It was kind of hard at first, to get over the initial and ultimately almost vomit-worthy news that Sasuke's tormenter was teaching my Biology class for the day. I thought in college that the professors were there every day, even if you weren't.

But I guess even in a college setting, professors needed proctors. I was staring at one right now wasn't I? He was staring back too, as he called the class roster, that creepy "I know what you did last summer" type.

"Haruno, Sakura?" he called. I meekly raised a trembling hand toward the ceiling.

"Here," I coughed, my hand flying back to my mouth instead. I had forgotten about the mask.

"Good," he smiled as he moved on. I just wished he would have stopped staring at me so much. I shivered, though not so much from the cold as it was from Professor Orochimaru. There were probably half the students there today making the room feel cold and empty.

While Orochimaru's voice wasn't as loud as Tsunade's, he was just as bad if not worse. I could barely hold a pen, much less write with it, but I guess all the years of being around Naruto instilled the 'never give up' motto into me. I counted ten pages of notes. I guess there wasn't going to be an exam after all. Good thing I didn't waste too much sick time studying for it.

"Can I see you just a moment after class?" he asked, grabbing my arm before I could leave the classroom. My heart began to pound in my ears, but not like it did with Kakashi. I felt more like I had run a race as opposed to just sitting in a class. I was aware of the blood pulsing through my veins and into my ears with a furious roaring, every sense on high alert to leave.

"Sure," I coughed. I didn't think he had seen me that night, but I couldn't be sure. He had seen me that weekend of the family gathering and my hair color wasn't hard to miss. Of course he would remember me.

He waited until all the students had left before he said another word to me. He didn't close the door, which was a good sign, no an excellent sign that this wasn't going to turn into some type of nightmare for me. He still provided me with an escape route, not that I could run in my condition, I could hardly stand without feeling like I was dying.

"Haruno," he smiled, revealing those fang-like teeth. "I hear that you are one of Tsunade's favorites," he commented, crossing his arms. I couldn't help but notice how sallow colored his skin was. The phrase 'death warmed over' flitted through my head.

"Yes," I nodded. Best just to keep it to short answers and maybe I could head for Kakashi's office soon enough. I just hoped he would be there should I make it.

"Interesting, you seem like a very intelligent girl," he nodded as he leaned closer. "And all smart girls know that they should keep their nose where it belongs or risk losing it," he nodded. "Curiosity killed the cat you know." Was he threatening me?

I coughed, nodding my agreement. Was this his creepy way of confiding in me that he knew it was I that was hanging around? I had heard him tell Sasuke it was a cat after all. This was just insane though. But I couldn't help but think I was the cat he was referring to.

"I understand," I finally said. I wasn't giving anything away; it wasn't like he could prove it was it? But then again, he seemed to have Sasuke in a vice along with his brother.

"Well good then. See you around," he nodded, smiling and revealing fang-like perfect white teeth once more. He released the vice-like grip on my arm as I all but ran from the room. Maybe it was something else related to Hiro. Maybe it wasn't Sasuke at all. Maybe I had a high fever and was just dreaming the whole thing. Was I even at school?

I gripped my books tightly to my chest, as if they were going to hold me up as I headed for Kakashi's office. I tried not to bump into anyone and ignore the looks I was probably receiving for behaving as I was. This was not how good girls conducted themselves.

There were more students with masks walking around, slowly of course, and maybe the cold would be cleared up soon enough. It didn't matter that Naruto and Hinata were absent today, I honestly should have been as sick as I was.

The world kept moving and shifting before my eyes as I tried to steady myself against walls and various objects, save classmates. I wasn't sure that I could quite make it past the professor's suite to his office, but I was going to give it a shot.

I knew I was a row or so away from it, as I stopped to breathe against the nearest wall. It felt as if poison were seeping through my veins and straight for my heart. I think I would have probably welcomed death with open arms at this point. My mother was of course right, I was getting worse.

I shut my eyes, trying not to let the world get completely away from me as my thoughts felt scrambled and scattered across. The cool painted brick was a pleasure to the fever that seemed to be increasing. I only had Kakashi's class left, I reminded myself promptly before I began to fall forward.

X

I felt as if something huge was missing, like something had occurred and I had no recollection of it and no way to get that information back. All I could see, feel, and taste was darkness for a little while, as my eyes tried to allow light through cracked eyelids.

"Sakura," it sounded like someone was whispering into a tin can across the universe. Gravity was my unseen enemy and I couldn't move my lead parts to answer them, whoever it was. The voice seemed so far away that I wasn't sure if it were male or female or even honestly human.

Maybe if they kept repeating my name to me that I could find them, track them with my mind, since my body wasn't going to be very willing to go anywhere. I was only half aware of the sensation of being carried or maybe I mistook it for flying, like wings on lead.

Either way, it was looking grim for me since I seemed to be trapped somewhere else.

That is, until I was jolted and the world started to make sense again.

"Sakura, come on," I could hear Jiraiya tell me? I thought it was his booming voice that struck a chord of fear into me that I might get groped. I tried to fight him off only to have him tell me: "If you keep struggling I'm going to drop you."

"What?" I wanted to know, realizing my voice sounded slurred just like the night at club when the drinks had been mixed up, though it was really more of a placebo effect then, since I had only felt drunk when they told me. Was I drinking instead of sick? I didn't remember going to a bar and certainly not with Jiraiya.

"I'll take her if you want," Kakashi's voice cut in. Kakashi.? What was he doing? What were they doing with me? I laughed after I considered it might be date rape. No they weren't doing anything of concern. My world was just hazy and like putting on rose colored glasses.

I could see flashes of grey and white through my slotted eye lids, the bright light of wherever we were burning. I could feel an arm supporting my back as the other hooked under my knees. The world grew dark again for enough time that I could try to open my eyes better and find out what was going on.

Whoever was holding me set me down in a chair, making sure that my back was going to lean against it as I tried to hold myself up. My eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of Kakashi's office as I found two semi-blurry shapes taking form in front of me.

They were both leaned in, closely examining my face as Kakashi's hands tried to steady my shoulders to keep me from falling forward and onto my face. Jiraiya had his arms crossed but he looked more concerned than I had ever seen him before. Why all the fuss over me? What had happened?

I had been certain that I had been on my way to Kakashi's office. I must have blacked out for whatever reason or another. That was the missing link I guess, which would explain my current situation.

Everything was still screaming at me in pain, but I didn't feel as drunk as before. Tenderness was shooting through my head and various parts of my body, giving the effect that I had trained hard the day before when all I had done was act miserable.

I felt sick enough to forget my pride and vomit, I used some control of course, but I knew I needed to go home and just sleep for a few hours. I knew it, but sometimes we all do things that are bad for us, like smoking or drugs. I wasn't going to last much longer in my current condition.

"I found her down the hall just moments ago," Jiraiya explained. "She seemed to have passed out and I guess she was headed for your office."

"Well I'm glad you found her and not someone else. Paramedics would be here within the instant," he said. "I know that wouldn't do her much good. Too much pride."

"No, not as strong as she is," Jiraiya chuckled.

Kakashi addressed me: "Sakura, you're going home today, right now between classes. As both a teacher and a friend, you're not staying here when you need to be in bed."

I started to protest but realized that it would have been a huge waste of effort. I was too weak to even support myself right then. I had to be somewhat well enough to come back the next day. I was pushing myself too hard.

"She isn't protesting, must be dying," Jiraiya teased.

"She looks kind of like me today," Kakashi nodded toward my mask. Maybe it would keep him from getting this as well, though I had been around him all day previous in a similar condition. "But no matter, I'm going to take her on now. Tsunade isn't here to fight with."

"No, but that Orochimaru is and he is just as bad," Jiraiya said. "I know things about him." Kakashi and I turned to look at him, hoping for more information, but his lips were pursed tight. Nothing was going to escape.

"Will you help me get her out to my car?" he asked. I guess not as much time had passed as I thought, though it felt like hours instead of just minutes that I had been rushing from his class to Kakashi's office to explain what was going on.

"Sure." Before I could even protest, Kakashi squatted down so that Jiraiya could help me on his back for a ride. I couldn't stop myself from feeling childish though, as my father always gave me piggy-back rides when I was small. The world was entirely innocent and fresh back then.

I tried to wrap my arms around his neck as best I could, but I was thankful for the steady grip he retained on my legs, supporting me to keep me from falling backward. Some of his wild grey hair brushed against my face and I wished that I could have smelled the shampoo he used.

Jiraiya opened doors for us and kept watch as Kakashi headed out into the chilly weather to load me into his car. After that, it was a sickening blur of scenery moving much too fast for my taste as my head leaned back against the plush headrest of his little car.

I don't remember much dialogue or how long the ride was. I was even too sick to have my minor freak out about my hot English teacher driving me home.

"Sakura, where is your house key?" he asked as he propped me up in front of my door. It had been easy for him to lift me up out of the car and carry me toward the door. I felt so helpless it was sickening.

"It's…" I felt like I was going to be sick and only held my purse out to him, giving him nonverbal permission to search through it. I really had no pride at this point.

"I understand." He began to unzip and dig through the top. Thankfully my keys were the first thing he found as he tried each one until he found the correct one. There were only three. The door opened easily as he helped me through. "Bedroom?"

I pointed down the hall. Mine was pretty easy to figure out. My head was still spinning and the walls seemed to continue to dancing around. We passed through the door and he set me on my bed, dropping my things beside my desk.

"Sakura, will you be alright? Is there someone I should call?" he asked as he knelt beside me. At least the room had stopped for the time being as I concentrated on my white ceiling.

"I'm fine," I told him. "You need to go back to school." He grasped my hand, giving it a tight squeeze. I could feel his eye on me. The fever did not feel as bad now, the walls stopping their dance and everything coming to a standstill.

"I will call you later to be sure that you're alright." He placed a soft kiss on my cheek before he left, I could hear his low footsteps on the carpet and then the eventual slamming of the door. It felt good to be back in my own bed at least, as I could ignore everything and fall asleep.

X

"Honey, wake up," I heard my mother's soft voice cutting through the plush white clouds I had been resting among. Her hand rested gently on my forehead and suddenly the world felt as if it were on fire again. I blinked, trying to make her words comprehend.

"Huhhh?" I slurred, my vocal chords and tongue not as alert when I tried to use them. I was certain that I had never been this sick before in my entire life and probably would never be again as everything I knew about the flu ran through my head. I remembered it could actually kill you. Now why hadn't I gone to get my flu shot with Ino?

"You're burning up sweetie. Your father and I think that you should go to the hospital," she told me. No school the next day? No, I couldn't miss school! I couldn't miss Kakashi! I could see my father lurking just beyond my doorway. So, they were plotting against me. I knew it.

"Fine," I consented, knowing they would probably take me anyway. I couldn't fight them off could I? She turned and nodded to my father, his socked feet hardly making a sound across the thick carpet. I couldn't infect everyone could I?

Both of them supported me, rushing to put a jacket and shoes on me as they tried to lead me through the blinding light of the house to the sudden, still darkness outside. How long had I been conked out anyway?

I know it was afternoon when Kakashi brought me home, and I had gone right to sleep afterward. I couldn't remember waking up, but I supposed I had. I was wearing my pajamas after all. Of course, I couldn't remember even going to school mere hours before that right away.

The cool air of the approaching fall was refreshing against my flushed skin and I absorbed it with a sharp intake of air, before coughing and trying to keep my parents from flipping out on me. They helped me into the front seat of my father's car before we rushed off under the streetlights I had seen so many times before in the direction of the local hospital.

When you're sick, time passes slowly. The wait in the blankness of the common room in the hospital seemed to be a century taken off my life. It seemed everyone had what I had or worse, for they all felt the need to allow their young sick children to run and touch everything, or to cough into their hands and then pick up a magazine.

I felt like I was going to vomit from those facts alone, sitting snuggly in the uncomfortable and tacky print chairs with my parents. My mother chatted with my father over my head as I tried to fall back asleep until they could take me back.

The nurse was friendly, albeit nosey, when she finally got around to calling my name at nearly midnight and leading me, like a horse to water, to the room with merely a curtain for privacy. I had insisted to leave my mother in the waiting room for this.

These questions were always so personal and hard to answer simply, take for example: "When was your last menstruation? Are you pregnant? Is there any way that you could be pregnant? Are you on any medications? Have you-? Did you-? Do you-? Why not-? "

It was more like what didn't you ask me? Want to know about my kitchen sink too? I could tell you what it looks like if you want. I know it was all procedure, just incredibly dull and not to taste. Then she disappeared for a while.

I leaned back on the table, the paper crunching beneath the weight of my body. The symptoms were the worst to tell her. I was so dried out and dying of thirst, my lips cracked and dry, my throat scratchy, but they were so busy she forgot to come back with some water.

They must have been completely understaffed this week, with probably more of their own out due to contamination. It was only a week later that I would see the headlines about the flu epidemic on the morning paper my father would leave on the table, and then I would fully appreciate exactly how lucky I was.

Some first semester this was turning out to be. All the time was blurring, everything that had happened, I had trouble telling what was fact from fiction after a while they ended up leaving me there for so long. All around me I could hear the sick coughing, more nurses, more diagnoses.

This was what I had to look forward too.

But somehow, when you're on the other side, things never seem as bad. I guess its part of that "grass is greener on the other side of the fence" theory. Of course, the people with the greener grass always have a higher water bill. What was I going to have to pay for my dreams down the line?

Lucky for me, the doctor on staff that night picked the most convenient time to show up as the curtain 'wooshed' past her, the metal rings clinking against the metal track they were suspended on. Had the light always been that bright? My over stimulated head stung.

"Miss Haruno?" she asked with a wide smile as she looked over my chart. Her mid-waist auburn hair was pulled into a red ribbon at the nape of her neck, the strands falling loose when she walked. Almost teal eyes were located behind black plastic square frames, set amongst skin a shade darker than alabaster stone. This woman was a doctor? Ones that attractive only existed on your mom's soap operas didn't they?

"Yeah, that's me," I croaked, wincing with the effort. I suddenly felt like a carrier of the archaic plague in her shining presence.

"I'm Doctor Sarah Takahashi," she introduced as she grabbed a pair of latex gloves from the nearby set of drawers on the moveable cart. She didn't look Japanese to be honest. I figured she was American and had just married someone here. "Not to state the obvious, but you don't look so good," she joked as she began to pull out the usual instruments.

"Well, it hurts more than it looks," I commented as she began to listen to my heart rate, asking me to breathe deeply and the other usual processes. Her hands had that usual doctor and ice cube thing going on. Every time she touched me, I shivered unconsciously.

"Well Miss Haruno, I'm going to have to say that you have come down with a strain of the flu, but I am sure you already knew that." I nodded, the effort paining me. "But, you are lucky your parents brought you in when they did. Your fever was well over one hundred and you are fairly dehydrated."

Damn my sleeping, like I could help it though. It wasn't Kakashi's fault either though, as he wasn't supposed to even drive me home, though I am sure he was itching to drive me to the hospital. Had I refused him? Probably. I should have called my parents and let them know I was sick. Actually, I shouldn't have gone to school, just stayed home and got plenty of bed rest and fluids.

"My suggestion is antibiotics, pain killers, fluids, bed rest even though I know you're a student. Trust me, you're not the first one from your college this week. And tonight, we're going to give you fluids by I.V. okay?" I merely nodded.

"Do your worst," I joked. It wasn't funny and she only laughed for a second. I wasn't scared of needles at all though. In fact, I felt so delirious at this point, they could have stuck me with hundreds of them and I wouldn't have noticed probably. Needles were nothing to the sharp stinging pain in my throat, the muscle aches, the fever…

"Well alright. Two bags of fluid and then you can leave. But I don't want you at school tomorrow or the rest of the week if you can help it. Bed rest only," she explained sternly. I didn't bother replying; my neck ached.

She finished scribbling on my chart and the prescriptions before she ordered a nurse in to start the treatment. I had never been this sick before and I would do my damnedest never to be it again, I vowed on that hospital bed.

The initial entrance was only a slight, stinging pain as the needle entered my skin. The nurse couldn't have been much older than me and I could tell that she was fairly new at her job as she seemed rather intimidated by me, her skinny hands shaking.

And then they left me in the small, sectioned off makeshift room with the sounds of sickness and falsified judgments prolonging god's work around me. To think, that possibly somewhere in this abysmal place that both birth and death were occurring. It was startling really.

I could feel myself going cold and I wished I had grabbed my jacket from my mother before I followed the nurse back. They were giving me two bags of fluids and that would take around an hour. I was already feeling drowsy and disconnected once again, adjusting so that I could try and lay down on the semi-hard surface.

My spine felt like it was going to break after a few minutes. Concrete was more comfortable than this thing, but my limbs felt frozen over and basic motor functions were impossible aside from closing my eyes and trying to remember everything.

It was unavoidable that I would be missing school, but what about Kakashi? I was quick growing accustomed to seeing him everyday day, breathing in his scent, staring at the body I knew lurked just beneath that cool exterior. Never mind the classes I was going to miss or the work I would have to plead my case to make up.

And then the world was warm again, it wasn't Antarctica or Japan in the winter. My fuzzy vision cleared to see that my mother was attempting to drape my coat over my back as they changed bags of fluid. Did I ask for her? Did it matter? She had brought me warmth after all.

And I was asleep once more.

The walk from the hospital and the car ride home were similar stories. After the fluid now rushing through my system, I had to admit I felt better, placated and content even.

Of course, I was still sick as a dog. Next year, I would be getting the flu shot if I had to fight with grannies for it. The thought amused me and I stifled a laugh into my hand, coughing in the same breath.

"Sakura, something funny?" my mother asked.

"I was just thinking," I smiled, my voice raspy. Staying home from school was looking better and better. I shouldn't have pushed, but when you have so much developed drive left over from a friend like Naruto, you can't help yourself.

"Just sleep well," she told me, once we were home and I was tucked all snug and warm into my own bed. It would have been a nice rest if I hadn't woken up most of the remainder of the night sick to my stomach and in pain.

I ended up being very restless, even venturing to work on homework while I was waiting for my stomach to settle down. I had to keep chanting to myself internally that I was going to live, not that I was on my death bed.

X

My parents came to check on me in the morning before they left for work. I was still awake.

"Sakura honey, do you want me to stay home and take care of you?" she asked as she sat on my bed beside me, the springs creaking slightly with her added weight. She brushed some of my sweaty bangs from my eyes and cupped my chin.

"No, I'll be fine this time," I resolved. I would have felt extremely guilty if I had both disobeyed her orders from the day before and then made her stay home with me when I would have been doing nothing but sleeping probably. I even tried to smile.

"That's our fighter," my father smiled as he tried to collect my mother, looking at his watch. "She'll be fine, since she isn't going to school today," he added.

"Aww honey, I am so sorry you're sick though!" she exclaimed, grabbing me into a tight hug. I felt like I might die from her sudden force.

"Mom," I choked, trying to push her off of me. "I'll be fine. I can catch up on my soap operas," I joked, still coughing lightly. "Just go to work and I'll call you later."

"Alright, but you better promise," she told me sternly. Of course I promised. I wasn't going anywhere or doing anything for a while probably. I didn't mind that they were leaving for work though, as I know they had to.

With hurried goodbyes and more almost meaningless promises, they left for work and the house resumed its normal quiet. My skin felt clammy under my pajamas, buried under my comforter.

Oh shaky legs I drew myself up and pulled my blankets and pillow off behind me, before heading for the couch. It didn't feel like a school day, especially after I turned on the TV. I sat with my legs pulled up to my chin for a while as I surfed, trying to keep my mind off school and who was at school.

There was nothing on and I wished I was at school or able to sleep. My stomach felt completely twisted and I wasn't really hungry or thirsty, though I needed to at least hydrate myself or risk another visit to the hospital, this time alone.

With my white, plush house shoes on, I shuffled to the kitchen and propped against various pieces of furniture long enough to make myself enough green tea to last the morning into the afternoon when I would need it again.

There really was nothing else on when I got back. I just mindlessly flipped for a while, before I humorously left it stationed on soap operas. Sure the latest struggles of the characters flashed on the screen, but they never registered with me.

What was Kakashi doing today? Had he caught something from me? Was anyone in my ever smaller circle of friends back and well rested? Would this aching and pain in my body never end?

It was one of those helpless kind of sick experiences, where you start to convince yourself that you don't remember how it felt to swallow without stinging pain going through your system, or breathe without coughing, or to think about food without vomiting.

They say a lot of sickness is in your head and I was even starting to believe that.

I know I continued to fall asleep at random moments throughout the day, one of those things where you know you were awake just moments before but then when you do come around the television show has changed.

I was even starting to lose all concept of time and it had just been one day. I wasn't in any condition to go back Friday. It was only Thursday after all.

In fact, I would have been a miracle to be ready by the time Monday rolled around.

Feeling bored with the soaps, I instead made my way to my bedroom to get on the computer a bit. I knew it had been a while and that my email was probably full by now. I wasn't fond of leaving it for long periods of time.

My faded pink computer chair gave slightly with my weight as I settled into the slightly stuffed pleasure with a blanket wrapped around my shoulders like a refugee. The computer seemed to be taking forever to boot up and then connect to the internet, though to the computer it probably seemed like I was taking an eternity to operate it.

There were some from Sai and Naruto, both of which I left for later. I ended up with one of those awful forwards from Ino. It ended up in the 'deleted' folder right away. I got a memo or two from my mother about feeling better.

But there was one name that brightened my day instantly.

Kakashi Hatake.

First and last name, there in my 'inbox' with a 'yo.' I couldn't click fast enough, listening to the whirling of the computer trying to keep up with my frantic change in attitude.

It was a much laid back email about assignments that day and then a more personal touch at the bottom. He was asking if he could call to talk to me about something.

Aching and chilly fingers tapped across the plastic hard enough that I dislodged my "l" key in the process, having to try and fix it on the fly. It was less than cooperative and I ended up coaxing it long enough to type a reply of my own and then go look for the phone.

I didn't have long to wait though, as he must have been calling from the school before he left to go home. That meant he was either in his office or his car, somewhere private. Excellent.

"Sakura?" he asked.

"Yes," I answered, hoping that I sounded something like my normal self. To me, I sounded like I had swallowed a frog, but I hoped that by some miracle I sounded somewhat attractive.

"I was hoping so," I could his relieved voice answer. "I was worried."

"Me too. I had to go to the hospital last night."

"The hospital?" he asked, to confirm and be sure that he hadn't misheard me.

"Yeah, my parents." I had to grab my water bottle nearby from the night before, taking a swig before I lay down on my bed and tried to get comfortable. I was feeling light headed and I couldn't judge how much of it was because I was talking to Kakashi or because of the sickness.

"The flu is deadly this year," he laughed lightly.

"Tell me about it. I just hope that I didn't infect anyone else the other day. I wouldn't want anyone else to suffer this." I couldn't help but cough, though it was almost to emphasize my point. Even though I was talking to the man I had most wanted to hear from all day, I couldn't help but still feel miserable from the body aches and fever.

"I'm sure you didn't," he encouraged. "Actually, your sickness is what I was calling about. I know you're not going to recover over night-"

"Wait, I might," I joked. "I could be magical."

"Uhuh. I had an idea that you don't have to follow through on, but you can think about tonight. Would you like to come spend the weekend with me? So that I could watch you?"

Now was I the one hearing things?

"Sakura?" he asked.

"Oh, well, I don't see anything wrong with it. My parents won't be likely to stay home and I won't be willing to let them." Whether I stayed with him or not, I wouldn't let my parents stay home. I was a big girl and could take care of myself for one weekend right?

"Well, if they are going to leave, then just let me know if you want to stay over, so I can make sure you're okay."

"And if I don't agree to that," I laughed, and then coughed.

"Then I'll have to come by and feed you my father's recipe for soup, and it won't be pleasant." Despite my sickness, I had to smile.

"Well then, I'll see what I can do," I explained offhandedly, like I was actually considering not staying with him. I knew I could work it out some way.

We exchanged a few more tokens of our days before he had to go home and I had to make myself not so sick. There was no telling when my parents would be home tonight, though I really thought that they left on Thursdays for some reason.

But the important part was that I felt a little better than I had before. I smiled, even while I flipped through the channels again. I still had little or no appetite, but I wouldn't have to diet for a long time after this, even though I shouldn't have been so unstable about my weight.

I was sleeping when my parents finally came home, exhausted from work and not looking forward to their weekend. The television was still running, casting a bluish light over the pristine furniture in the living room.

My mother grabbed me in one of her usual crushing hugs and wanted to know my day went and various other miniscule details before we made it down to our discussion of the weekend. But it was the usual argument, "we don't want to leave you but…" and my usual "I know your jobs are important, don't worry about me, I'll find a girlfriend to stay with if I need to."

In my current, weakened state, my parents pitied me and took my side. There was no sense in them missing work because I had not taken precautions. I wouldn't allow it.

And so it was settled.

This weekend, I would be staying with Kakashi, right under their noses. I smiled and waved as they headed to bed, snuggling into the comfort of the couch as I didn't feel like going to bed when I would probably still be up half the night, either for nerves or sickness.

X

My parents had already left, me waving goodbye to them when they tried not to disturb me on the couch at nearly six am this week.

I had called and left a message for him as soon as I could dial and talk on the phone. I was thinking it would be late afternoon before he either came to get me or called back.

My bag was packed and beside the door, my phone in hand, and I was all dressed in warm exercise clothes as I waited in silence on the couch. My heart pounded blood dully and I felt disgusting. I should have taken a shower. He was going to think I was disgusting.

I held up a limp and oily strand of flashy pink hair, examining it as close as possible without crossing my eyes and making myself sick.

Yeah, I needed a shower. If I had known a timeframe, I would have worked it into my lazy schedule, but I wanted to be ready to meet him more than clean.

I peeked out the window just as often as I checked the phone, the television on just strictly for noise. The street was empty. I half expected tumbleweed to roll past, like in western parodies.

But a familiar car soon rounded the end of the block and I sprung up from the couch so fast that my head spun and I felt drunk as I tried to grab my bag and take care of last minute things.

It was now or never time. I would be spending the weekend with Kakashi for the first time. It certainly wasn't the last and this is where the story takes a new curve.

The door was locked securely behind me, bag in hand, and I headed down the pathway to where he was just stepping out from the driver's side door, his silvery hair wild as usual. Today was slightly windier than I thought.

"Ready?" he asked, pulling down his mask to allow me to see his smile. I felt a lump in my throat that had nothing to do with the flu and began to smile. Yes, now or never time. If there was any time to chicken out of something, it was now.

Would I? Or was my resolve a lot stronger?

X


	14. Chapter 14

**Authors's Note: **Wow, it has been years since I updated this. Literally. I apologize for the long wait. I had several major uphevals in my life that kept me from really having inspiration to continue this particular fic. I'll keep my note short though, as I know you're ready to read what I have in store for you.

Sorry for any errors. Expect probably shorter chapters, though this story is actually about done, probably just a few more chapters at the most. The first half was the set up, the second half is the drama :) I was so afraid of writing long chapters like I used to, that it kept me from writing anything at all. So I apologize for the shift. I also apologize if anyone is OOC. It's been so long... I kinda wish I could re-write it...

Anyway, hope you enjoy. Thank you for all the continued support years and years later. You don't know what it means to me. It probably seemed like I was never going to update. Hell, I didn't think I would either. But I've had this heavy guilt and I guess it finally caught up with me.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own. Never will.

* * *

She's Leaving Home

Chapter 14

As it turns out, my resolve was just fine. "Yes, of course. I was born ready," I answered. I had no idea that this weekend would begin a series of patterns and events that would last longer than anyone planned.

He nodded his affirmation as he grabbed my bag and helped me into the familiar interior of his car. I pressed my lump of healthy anxiety down as he slipped into the driver's side and we took off.

I'm pretty sure he tried to make chit-chat with me on the way to his apartment, but between the sickness and pleasure of my English professor stealing me away as he had promised weeks before, I hardly paid attention.

It occurred to me that no one knew where I was, should anything happen to me. Call it a woman's intuition or just plain old gut feeling, but I knew it would all be okay, despite the fact that it wasn't good protocol. Suppose he wasn't the man I thought?

I shook my head, unwillingly answering one of his questions. "So you are purple with green polka dots?" he was asking me.

"What? Oh no, sorry got lost in thought for a second." Instinctively I knew he was smiling beneath the mask without giving him a second glance. Amazing how a few weeks could bring about changes like that.

"Understandable." I rested my head against the window, thinking I would just close my eyes for a second. Of course, whenever you want to do anything for a second, it always lasts longer.

I wish I could say that I remembered every detail of that first night at his apartment, but time always passes differently when you're on the verge of death.

I know for sure that he helped me to his apartment, called off the dogs enough that he could force me into his bed, and then I did nothing but dream for at least twenty-four hours. Well, and talk.

Of course, I can't recall any of my conversations with him, though he said I told him some pretty amusing phrases such as: "Hey don't skateboard down my gaga," or "get off my monkey wrench."

"Feeling better sleepy-head?" he asked as he sat down on the edge of his bed, holding pain killers and water. Truthfully, I had been awake for several hours before he walked in. After a good day of rest, I was feeling about eighty percent better.

But I had decided not to test my luck and try to navigate my way to the bathroom just yet. Instead, I just took in my surroundings and tried to decide if I might have said anything that would come back to haunt me forever.

"Yeah, a bit," I answered trying to give him my best 100 watt smile. I swallowed the painkillers easily. I never had the fear they would lodge in my throat and kill me. He nodded, watching me.

"I hope you're up to some good old fashioned movie watching," he told me cheerfully, throwing back the soft covers on his bed. When I had been feeling so sick, I hadn't worried too much about my appearance. But now that I was on the path to recovery, I realized truly what a mess I probably was.

I had slept in my sweatpants at least twelve hours and I had not showered in quite some time. I wanted to check his pillow to see if I had left stains from my disgusting hair behind.

"Actually, would it be possible for me to get a shower first and sort of clean up?" He shrugged.

"Sure, if you feel like you won't be overdoing."

"No. I think I would feel better."

"Want any help?" he winked. I couldn't suppress the unexpected shiver that passed through me at the pleasant images that called forth. Why yes, a shower with Kakashi- no, bad Sakura! I stopped my steamy imagination before it grew too graphic.

"No, I think I can manage," I told him, hauling myself out of bed. I suddenly knew what Jello molds felt like, all wobbly and colorful. I also tried not to let my weakness show too much, as I took a few seconds to gather my bearings and not fall on my face. Thankfully, he didn't ask me about a hundred times if I were okay or really sure.

Instead, he just placed a gentle hand on my lower back in support and wordlessly followed along. I had nearly forgotten how nice his bathroom was until I stepped inside. He kept it so clean and organized that I felt slightly guilty about the state of the bathroom at my house. I quickly promised myself that I would clean my personal bathroom first chance I had.

He drew a two towels and a washcloth from a cabinet, setting them on the sink. "You go ahead and hop in. I'll grab some clothes for you and leave them on the sink too. Feel free to use whatever's in there." Before I could protest too much, he gently shut the door. I listened to his footfalls disappear into his bedroom before I even turned the 'hot' faucet on to start warming the water.

I stripped the clothes off, peeking over my shoulder between articles to see if Kakashi was lurking in the doorway. He wasn't, of course. I was glad, naturally, but also a little guilty my imagination thought it knew better. He wasn't that sort of person. Was he?

No, I really was being silly. I folded my dirty clothes, leaving them on the commode lid as I turned the faucet over to spray and gingerly stepped in. My hair was a knotted, tangled mess. I tried working the kinks out with my fingers so I wouldn't have as much work later.

He had instructed me to use his things, so I squeezed a small amount of shampoo out of the bottle, massaging it into my hair. I basked in the subtle scent of the generic brand he used. My woozy head was starting to dissipate.

It is amazing how much a shower can revive you when you've been sick. I emerged from the bathroom feeling like a brand new girl. Kakashi had chosen my black pair of lounge pants and a matching tank top from my bag. I carefully noted that he had also picked my skimpiest pair of underwear and laciest bra from my overnight bag.

I flushed, realizing he had been handling them, at least from his bedroom to the bathroom. Of course, I couldn't recall what order I had packed everything in, so perhaps he had just grabbed whatever was on top.

"In here Sakura," he called from the living room. He must have heard the bathroom door creak when I stepped out. He was sitting on the couch, channel flipping with the dogs piled around him. Eight tales wagged simultaneously as the dogs hopped down from the couch so that I could sit down too. Kakashi patted the spot beside him. "Ignore them," he told me, which was easier said than done, especially when they turned on the charm.

"So what is on the agenda for today?"

"I thought we would start with romantic comedies and see how the day goes." He held up a few of the latest titles I hadn't gotten around to seeing yet.

"Sounds good to me." He got up long enough to start the DVD player and returned to my side. There was already a cup of still warm tea sitting on the table.

"Be sure to drink that," he cautioned me, "it's a recipe my father used on my colds. Works like charm." I took a hesitant sip as I cuddled up to him. I didn't dare ask what was in the drink; but I suspected it would make cold medicine feel inadequate. If my head had been stuffed up before, it wasn't by the end of the movie.

As for what movies we watched, or how many, it's really not the important. What is important is that I spent the day cuddled up close to my literature professor. He would absently stroke my hair, or hold me against him. It was nice, without being too intimate. It would have been better if I could have stayed awake the whole time.

If only the weekend had not come while I was sick. But there would be more, I was sure.

Naturally, none of my schoolwork was completed that Saturday. I tried not to think of how I would have to return home the next night, or how fast the weekend was coming to a close. Or how much I would miss being so close to Kakashi outside of school walls.

"You don't seem as cheerful," he commented at dinner. He had decided to order out again, rather than try to cook something for me.

"I am," I said, picking at my food. My stomach was protesting that it wasn't quite ready. "I'm just sad that tomorrow afternoon I'll have to go home."

"Ah," he sighed. We were both silent for a few minutes. "Well, I have a proposition. To solve that problem."

"What's that? Marriage?" I joked.

"Not quite," he chuckled. "No, you could always stay with me on weekends. I mean, it would be easier than going home wouldn't it?" I took a minute to mull it over.

"Yes, it would."

"Then I could show you the city. Corrupt your innocence, take you meet the local drug dealers, gang fights," he joked.

"Only if they all lead to the emergency room," I smiled. No one would be any the wiser. My parents were not home on weekends. I would just be stuck at home passing the time myself. It was temping, very temping.

"Well, naturally."

"I accept then," I told him, the words tumbling from my mouth before I could take them back or second-guess them.

"Really?"

"Yes. I'm sure your apartment is more fun than my house."

"I'll try to keep it that way."

"This will be fun," I told him, though I was unsure. If he was feeling as I was, he hid it better. "Hopefully by next weekend I'll be feeling up to full speed."

"I'm sure you will be. The young tend to bounce back faster."

"Oh hush, you are not that old," I laughed, reaching out slap his arm playfully. His hand grasped my own and we wrestled for control for a few minutes.

Sometime between dinner and midnight, I suppose I fell asleep again because next thing I knew Kakashi was trying to convince me that his bed would be more comfortable.

"But where are you going to sleep?" I asked.

"The couch will suit me fine," he assured me.

"No, no. I've been in your bed enough. I'll be fine on the couch," I told him sleepily.

"Sakura, this is a closed discussion. You are taking my bed, end of argument."

"Kakashi, we're adults right?"

"For the most part," he told me as we stumbled down the hall. We were almost to his room.

"Well, then there is no reason we can't share the bed." I thought he would lose his grip on me with that suggestion.

"Sakura, you need your rest. I will take the couch," he insisted, setting me on the edge.

"Kakashi, if I'm going to be spending every weekend over here, we'll have to come to some arrangement. Even if you're perfectly healthy and your couch is the best quality, I know sleeping in your own bed would be much better."

"And who is seducing who now?" he asked. I could see the faintest outline of a smile under his mask.

"This is not about seduction," I protested, "this is about comfort." He sighed, sitting down beside me. "Please? At least stay in here until I fall asleep."

"I thought we were adults?" he laughed.

"We are. I just…"

"Don't want to be alone?"

"Can I use that as an excuse?" I smiled.

"I guess. I'll stay for a few minutes," he assured me. He moved to the other side of the bed as I crawled under the covers. The bed creaked as his weight shifted towards me. My eyes were feeling heavy again, as I tried not to smell his pillowcase too much. I had dreamed of this nights and nights, and yet, it was difficult to enjoy with a stuffed up nose and sore throat.

Eventually, I was able to clear my mind and drift off.

X

The next morning, I awoke to a pressure on my side. I was scared for a moment that my cold had complicated, when I realized Kakashi's arm was swung over my midsection. I allowed myself a smirk of victory, because he had remained when he said he would only stay a few minutes.

I lay there as long as I could. I wanted to enjoy this for all it was worth. Unfortunately, my bladder was in disagreement with my plans and I had to try to crawl from under the covers without waking him.

When I returned from the bathroom break, the bed was vacated and Kakashi was in the midst of changing.

"Ah!" I screamed, more from embarrassment than surprise. He had been changing pants. I covered my eyes, turning away from him. Over my shoulder, I could hear his rich laugher.

"Sorry Sakura, I wasn't sure how long you would be gone. I meant to be totally naked."

"Shut up," I laughed, though my cheeks were aflame. "Is it safe?" I asked, trying not to think about how much of his posterior I had actually seen. At least he answered my boxers or briefs question. He was neither.

"Yes, it is safe," he confirmed. I turned around quickly.

"Liar!" I barked, laughing hard enough to start choking. He was still shirtless. I swung around again, grabbing the doorframe for support as my chest stung.

"Sorry Sakura," he apologized, wrapping his arms around my waist a few seconds later. I could still hear the amusement in his voice.

"It's okay," I finally swallowed.

"Come on; let's get some breakfast in you." The dogs demanded their breakfasts first. I sat on the counter out of the way, watching them gobble down their chow.

"After breakfast, I'm going to have to go home," I said, "just to be sure I beat my parents home."

"No problem." He poured a couple bowls of cereal, joining me on the counter a little while later. We crunched in silence, all eight dogs watching us. I couldn't stop thinking about this was almost like being married. Almost, but not quite.

I was feeling better than the day before. By this coming Friday, I would be feeling my tiptop best so that I could enjoy the weekend to fullest extent. I gathered up my things as he packed me a thermos of his dad's homemade cold remedy. I tried not to think about what I would be leaving behind for a week.

"Keep taking this and your cold will be knocked out in no time," he told me. Though he maintained his cheerful tone, his eyes told me that he was feeling the same separation. I patted the dogs, promising to return and go for an active walk with them.

The ride home was silent except for the sounds of a pop station he had set it on for my benefit. It wasn't like I wouldn't see him again. I had his class to prepare for tomorrow after all. The driveway was absent of my parent's familiar vehicle and I breathed a sigh of relief.

I sat in the passenger seat for a few minutes, not willing to get out and go in to start the mound of homework I still had to complete. I hoped that Orochimaru would not be joining us again for class tomorrow. In my sickness, I seemed to have lost interest in everything that had seemed so vital before. I made a mental note to call Naruto and Hinata to see how they were holding up later.

"Thank you," I finally told him.

"It was my pleasure," he answered automatically.

"I hope I wasn't too much trouble."

"You know you weren't."

"See you tomorrow?"

"Of course. Feel better." He kissed my cheek again before I finally climbed out of the car. He retrieved my one bag, walking me to the door.

"You didn't have to," I told him, glancing around to be sure my nosy neighbors were not watching. He shrugged.

"I thought it was the right thing to do." I fumbled with my keys before finally unlocking the door. As I grabbed my bag from his shoulder, he pulled his mask down.

"Thank you," I said again, my heartbeat accelerating at the rare sight of his perfect face.

"It was my pleasure Sakura." He leaned in.

"Kakashi, I'm still sick," I whispered.

"I don't care," he told me, before he pressed his soft lips to mine. I felt firecrackers going off in my head as I went on autopilot. The kiss was brief but firm, my lips tingling after he pulled away. He tugged his mask back over his nose as he headed for his car. I stood there dumbfounded on the steps for a few minutes, watching him disappear down the street.

Finally, I managed to pull myself together to enter the house and make sure things were as they should be, before my parents returned. I forgot all about my call to Naruto or Hinata to see how they were doing. I did as much of my homework as I could muster.

My parents returned later that afternoon, glad to see I was improving. I wanted to tell them the miracle my professor had worked on me, wanted to tell the world about our kiss. Instead, I settled for studying my Biology notes and other neglected things until I must have fallen asleep on the couch.

The next morning my mother woke me in time to clean myself up for classes. I was still slightly impaired, my nose still clogged. I had drunk the whole thermos through the course of the previous day.

I grabbed my bag, heading briskly for the bus, delighted to see that Hinata and Naruto were waiting for me. They both seemed much improved as well.

"Sakura," Naruto yelled, waving me over. Yes, much improved.

"Hey, you guys look better," I told them.

"You do too?" Naruto asked, confused. "You caught it too?"

"Yeah, the next day." And then Naruto had to ask the dreaded, loaded question.

"So how was your weekend then since you seem to be feeling better?"

I gulped.

They were two of my closest friends. They already knew how I felt. I told myself they would be delighted. Then why wouldn't the words come?

"Uh…" They both looked so expectant. The truth was better than even a white lie. Why should I lie to them? Why was this so difficult? They knew what was going on. More or less. And yet I continued to gape and gulp, even as the bus pulled up.

"Sakura, come on, time to go," Naruto told me. We grabbed secluded seats near the back. "Come on, what did you do this weekend that you feel much better?"

"Why does it matter such much?" I blurted out. He and Hinata shared a glance that spoke volumes. "I mean…"

"You were with him again weren't you?" Naruto asked quietly.

"Not like that," I sighed. "He took care of me this weekend. My parents were out of town. Nothing happened."

"Right," Naruto rolled his eyes.

"It didn't."

"I believe you. Otherwise you would be a lot more cheerful," he mumbled.

"You want to say that to my face?" I snapped, forgetting that I was supposed to be more mature by now. But I was tied in knots and I wasn't sure why.

"Geeze Sakura, lighten up. Nothing happened. Why, did you want something to happen?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows.

"Well…" I couldn't believe I was even discussing the possibility of sleeping with Kakashi with Naruto.

"Anything else happen?" Hinata asked.

"Guys, you promise not to mention this to anyone?" Against my better judgment, I was going to confide in loudmouth Naruto. They nodded. "I'm going to be spending my weekends at Kakashi's apartment." I watched their jaws drop in unison and wondered if I had made a good decision.

"Sakura," Naruto started, "spending one weekend is one thing, but a whole weekend, every weekend?" The other bus passengers were now watching us warily. Hinata and I quieted him down.

"I know," I moaned. "I said yes before I could really think of all the possibilities."

"Sakura, what if you two get caught?"

"We're adults."

"But the college isn't going to care about that." No, they weren't.

"We're just going to see."

"What about your parents? You know they always find out. You're too much of a good girl, Sakura." Great, I had spent the weekend sick and now I was getting life lessons from Naruto of all people. The boy could barely police himself.

"They aren't going to find out."

"What about the other students? You know there are already rumors."

"What?"

"Yeah, before I left the other day, I could hear some guys in the bathroom talking about you." Hiro. It seemed that I hadn't managed to cure all the poison in my life.

"We'll be more careful then. Besides, that's just talk. No one really believes it."

"Not yet."

"Naruto, I know what I'm doing," I snapped. But I didn't, not really. I didn't realize how I was standing on the edge of something that was going to get a lot worse before it would ever get better. It's funny how you dangle over the edge sometimes and never once think to look below you, just to see what's in store.

The rest of the bus ride was uneasily silent. I hadn't meant to be frustrated with Naruto. I was frustrated with myself.

As I stalked off to Biology, I hoped that the bus ride was not an indicator of how the rest of the day would commence.

But my some of my worst fears were confirmed as I stepped foot into Tsunade's class. Standing at the head of the classroom, looking pleased as punch, was Orochimaru.

"Ah Haruno, could you stay after class?" he asked. Again? As I hurried to my seat, he addressed the class. "I'm sorry to inform you that Professor Tsunade will not be joining us for the rest of the semester. She has had..." he paused, considering his words carefully, "an unfortunate accident that will take some time to recover from. As of today, I will be accepting responsibility for her class." What fresh hell?

X

**Author's Note: **Nah, really don't have much to say this time.


End file.
